Inherit the Storm
by The Altered Destinies
Summary: Based on the work of Rumiko Takahashi and Others, set in the timeline of my "Nabiki , A Very Scary Thought" Series, and taking place in the time of the next generation…
1. Chapter 1

DnabInherit01

Inherit the Storm

Part One

"Meet the Family"

By

Jim Robert Bader

Dateline, Nerima: 2012

Continuity # 59343921.40

"DAITOKUJI!"

Eileen Kent-Kane Managi Daitokuji hardly glanced up as she said, "What is it this time, Minos? I'm busy."

"You're always too stuck up and busy to have anything to do with me, you stuck up Dyke," Minos snarled, a muscular lad whose handsome face was presently distorted by rage as he advanced upon the much smaller seeming girl, "But this is one time you are gonna respect me."

"That would be most unlikely," said the soft-spoken girl whose crimson hair and feminine attire might incline one to suspect an uneven confrontation was in the works.

And they would be right, but not for the reason so listed.

"You haven't seen me in a while, so I'll let you in on a little secret," he snalred, rolling up a sleeve, "I'm been in the Mountains studying one of my Dad's supply of scrolls and I think this time I've got the key to bringing you down."

"Other than being burdened with your noisy presence?" Eileen asked, "And I was wondering why it had been so blissfully quiet of late."

"I'm tired of your lip," Minos growled, flexing his arms and cracking his knuckles as he growled, "It's about time somebody put you in your place and taught you better manners. And after what you said about me in the girl's locker rooms…"

"I was merely being accurate," Eileen replied, not bothering to so much as glance at the larger boy while she flipped the pages of her I-Phone, marking out the particular website that she needed for her research, "The size ratio of one's members is not always proportional to their overall dimensions…"

He took a swing at her, aiming this time at the side of her head, and was quite surprised when his fist stopped in mid-air well short of its intended target.

Stopped, that is, with but a single finger that she had raised to intercept him by his fore-thrust knuckles.

The time she did turned to regard him, and her look was neither haughty nor contemptuous but more resembling the look that one might turn upon a fly that has alighted on your knee. It was a cold regard of studied indifference.

"I do not know why you trouble yourself to study these odd techniques with the mistaken belief that you can impress me," she said mildly, "But-contrary to what you may believe-I do not take particular pleasure in exerting myself in a violent manner. I just happen to be naturally gifted in the area in which you struggle so hard to be competitive, and by my standard you are not even a significant factor."

"Why you-!" he started to snarl, frustrated that his best efforts did not so much as even cause her to budge even slightly.

But the next instant he was even more surprised as Eileen flexed her other finger outward, and all at once he found himself in the familiar state of becoming airborne without the least clue as how his feet had left the ground so far beneath him…

At that a lavender haired girl approaching the front of the Furinkan High School building glanced up at the sound of a loud male scream and noted the form of a classmate on a trajectory course with the swimming pool a half a block away.

She shrugged her shoulders and turned back to approaching the redhead to whom she cheerfully waved and acknowledged, "Hey, Ekko. Was that Minos I just saw?"

The redhead snapped her phone shut and instantly paid her full attention to the speaker, "That was indeed so, Lylac-san. Could you not tell by the contralto tone of his screaming?"

Tendo Lylac shook her head and sighed, "I just don't know what's going on in that boy's head. Hasn't he figured it out by now that as hard as he trains his body he's never going to come within a hundred kilometers of being in your league?"

"He does demonstrate a remarkably poor learning curve at that," Eileen remarked as she turned fully to confront her purple haired companion, "Have you concluded your full list of school activities for the day?"

"All done until tomorrow," Lylac said, inclining her head slightly as she smiled and asked, "Why? Were you waiting for me all this time?"

Eileen colored a bit but tried to compose herself as she responded, "I thought I'd take the moment to conclude some research that I needed for one of my own assignments. Being gifted is a poor excuse for not exerting one's aptitude to pique efficiency."

"Plus it's easier to study in your lab than it is at home when your parents are in?" Lylac mused.

"I have checked in with my remote systems and everything appears to be functioning adequately," Eileen said, "However…I have considered relocating my facilities to Tenko's place as it would be a more secure location."

"At least until your folks go off on another one of their periodic missions," Lylac chuckled softly, "Right, I get it."

"Would you be interested in accompanying me in my endeavor to procure some necessary victuals that will fill a deficient void in the pantry back home?" Eileen asked.

"Oh?" Lylac arched a purple eyebrow, "You mean to say that your cupboard is barren once again?"

"Alas," Eileen said, "My Fama can brew a Nobel prize winning formula from ordinary house products, and my mother can dead lift a freight train without suffering back problems. But neither one of them is practical minded enough to remember to visit a grocery store from time to time. Fama always has her nose buried in her research, and Mother…well…she is perhaps an adequate chef, if one does not mind reheated rice served in a package…"

"Got it," Lylac nodded, "Consider me along for the ride then, and I could certainly use the company. It's been one of those crazy, freaky days…"

"Oh?" it was Eileen's turn to arch an eyebrow.

"Quite apart from Grandpa Happosai getting loose in the girl's locker room," Lylac noted, "The Boiler, of all days, chooses to give up the ghost and leaves us only with cold water with which to shower. Couple that with the pool temperature dropping below its usual twenty-three degrees Celsius, which I always insist it be maintained above…"

"And you being Captain of the Swim team," Eileen duly noted.

"Well…you can see how awkward that was," Eileen shrugged, "Good thing everyone in school knows about the Curse that I inherited from my mother, and my learning that technique in Fire Water generation from Aunt Latisha last semester…"

"A most useful skill to be had," Eileen noted, "Much as mastering your father's Senken techniques the semester before that."

"Does come in handy from time to time," Lylac remarked, falling in step with her companion, "Shall we be going?"

"By all means," Eileen replied, trying very hard not to give away her eagerness, "Let's."

Off some distance away a pair off silver haired girls watched these exchanges and noted the body language, and one of them just sighed, "My sister is such a Baka."

"And mine is any better?" her companion asked, "I tell you, Geena, somebody has to buy those two a clue. How can Oneechan possibly miss all the hints your sister is dropping that she wants to go to the next base in their relationship?"

"I know," Geena snorted, "Not that I can figure out the attraction. Your sister is half-guy, for Kami sakes. Which side of her is she after? The Boobs or the Cock?"

"I don't think it really matters which side she gets as long as she gets her at all," Shamran shook her mane of frosty hair and sighed, "Glad I don't have a Jusenkyo curse like that. Bad enough that my other sister gets downright catty when she's doused with cold water…"

"Speaking of which?" Geena turned her head, "I think I spy the little furball approaching even now."

They turned their heads and saw a brown haired blur rush by peddling frantically on a bicycle as she hit a bump and took to the air, crying brightly, "NIHAO!" as the only warning that Furinkan's student body ever got before she landed.

"She sure is in a hurry to get someplace," Shamran sniffed.

"Fragrance has a lot of energy that she likes to burn off in the most creative ways," Geena smiled, "And if I didn't know any better I'd suspect that she's chasing another new girlfriend."

"My condolences on whoever she's set her her sites on," Shamran shook her head, "I swear sometimes, they may be my sisters but it's hard to believe that we're even related."

"Tell me about it."

Both silver haired girls turned in surprise, seeing no one in particular, but suspecting by the tone of voice that they knew who had been speaking.

"Ryokouma-kun?" Shamran asked, "Is that you in there, Little Brother?"

"Don't tell anybody," one of the bushes replied, "I'm practicing my Koseken Juitsu."

"You're camouflaging your presence to blend in with the local fauna?" Geena asked, "Who's after you this time?"

"My bet would be either Incense or Tomoko," Shamran sniffed, "Either that or Watazashi."

"Ha-ha," came the masculine snort, "Well, for your information it's none of the above."

"Interesting," Geena mused, "So in other words it's got to be Belldandy."

"Bell-chan?" Shamran asked, "What makes you think of her?"

"Please," Geena snorted, "I may not use big words like my sister, but I'm every bit as smart and strong as she is."

"No," the boy snorted, dropping his disguise and appearing as himself to make indignant protest, "Not Belldandy. If she were after me it wouldn't be a problem. It's the other sister…"

"What?" Shamran gasped, "Lilith?"

"Yeah, that's the one," Ryokouma said, "And it's not like I've done anything wrong to get on that witch's bad side…"

"No, she means Lilith, as in…over there," Geena moved her head to indicate a direction somewhat past the younger boy's slender shoulders.

Ryokouma froze as he heard a familiar feminine voice say, "And before you say it, no, it's not the oldest trick in the book. But it ranks as somewhere close, Cousin."

He very slowly turned around to see the dark haired girl glaring at him with crimson eyes and pallid complexion, "Ah…hi, Lilith-chan."

"Don't chan me, Mister Innocence," Lilith stepped forward and jabbed a finger that she tapped upon his chest, "And did you really think that lame disguise was enough to put me off your scent? After all, your Amazon sister is hardly the only one who's good at a blood hunt."

As she spoke she briefly bared her fangs to full view, which prompted the younger man to swallow, even though he knew that she would not attack him in broad daylight.

"Ah…look, if I can explain what happened back there…" Ryokouma tried not to let his voice go up an octave, but it squeaked none the less in spite of his best efforts.

"Explain?" Lilith snorted, "Explain how you landed on my twin sister and managed to grope her in full view of the Volleyball squad.?"

"He what?" Shamran blinked.

"Whoah," Geena said, "Bold move, Ryo-kun. And why didn't I ever think of doing that?"

"You mean grope Cousin Bell-chan?" Shamran asked, "Probably because Lil-chan here would drink you like a soda."

"NO!" Ryokouma protested, "For the last time I didn't grope her! I mean….not deliberately anyway. It was just…an accident. She was on top of me and I was trying to help her to get off…"

"Not that way you don't," Lilith snorted, "Kissing cousins or not, this is Japan, not Arkansas, and no way am I letting you take advantage of my sister."

"I wasn't taking advantage of her!" Ryokouma turned and appealed to the others, "Oneechan, you've got to believe me…"

"Hmmm," Shamran mused, "Well, it does sound awfully far-fetched to accuse Ryo-kun of indecency. After all, I don't think he even has a clue about what to do with a woman."

"You got that right," Geena snorted.

"Would you lay off of me," Ryokouma snapped, "And this from my own sister…"

"Who raises a valid point, which even I must concede," Lilith snorted, "But that doesn't alter the fact that you are a Man, and however inexperienced, in the heart of every man there lurks a Hentai soul that's just waiting to be kindled."

"Stop projecting yourself onto me," Ryoukoma snapped, "I mean...sure, I've not had a lot of experience with girls…I mean…girls to whom I'm not closely related. But I grew up in a house that's full of women, and aside from Chusen and Akira we're kind of…outnumbered."

"Like that was ever a reason for a man not to harbor hidden feelings of perversion," Geena noted.

"Hey, whose side are you on?" Ryokouma snapped.

"Hmmm…speaking of our mysterious brother and his entourage of siblings," Geena glanced around, "Just where do you suppose they've gotten off to?"

"Training in the hills most like," Lilith said, turning back to Ryokouma, "And don't try and change the subject. Whether intentional or not the fact remains that your hands were on the anatomy of my sister, and even if there was a shirt and a bra in the way you're bound to have gotten some ideas about what they feel like just from simple reflexive hand contractions."

"Yeah, like I'd even want to grope them," Ryokouma protested, if unconvincingly, "Yours are probably no bigger than hers…"

"Excuse me?" Lilith said archly.

Shamran sensed danger and hopped to her feet, promptly clamping a hand over the mouth of her younger brother, "Ah…he didn't mean anything by that, Cousin. You know Ryo-kun and his mouth and the way it runs ahead of his brain. Family trait, or so I'm told, especially on the male half of the dividing line…"

"Of which your sister Lylac straddles in the center," Geena noted.

"Not helping," Shamran chirruped.

Lilith frowned, "You had better watch your step around me, Cousin, or I may just forget that I am on a diet. You will apologize to Belldandy the next time that you see her…or else."

"Or else what?" Ryokouma asked nervously.

Lilith smiled, and not in a good way, baring fangs as she said, "Or else I'll tell Watazashi and Incense about your favorite hangouts…the ones you think that no one else knows about besides yourself."

Ryokouma's eyes went wide with evident fear, and it was plain enough that the dark haired girl had gotten his full attention.

"Until then," Lilith said, turning around and seeming to step out into open space before she vanished.

"Whooh, that girl is creepy," Geena said, "She may be your cousin, but she always looks at you like you're her favorite blood type."

"She doesn't bite people casually," Shamran said, turning to Ryoukouma, whom she had released but for her stern expression, "Do us both a favor and try to stay off her bad side, little brother. Ah…assuming she even has a not-bad side, that is."

"I swear I didn't do anything deliberately to provoke her," Ryokouma protested.

"No, but you do have the Saotome gift for doing and saying the wrong thing around women," Geena said, "As evidenced by your popularity with the girls of your class, you Dog you."

"Don't be jealous of my brother's success," Shamran tuned back to her best friend, "Tell you what, let's go cruising for some hot dates. There's bound to be a few guys hanging around the late hours on this campus."

"Guys or girls?" Geena asked.

"Does it matter as long as they're cute?" Shamran grinned, and the two of them went off together, leaving Ryokouma to stare at them before shaking his head and murmuring, "I come from such a weird family…"

Saotome Chusen stood waiting and attentive. His posture was relaxed to the point of seeming casual and at ease, but inwardly he was tensing with anticipation. There was no appearance of tension or stress as he stood relaxed and at ease, waiting for the attack that was impending.

Surrounded on four sides his opponents flanked him, each gathering their energies and preparing to unleash their onslaught.

To his right the air felt warm with the heat radiating from a redheaded girl as flames surrounded her body, hands raised like twin blades ready to slice the air, projecting outward.

To his left a blue haired girl with a Mohawk hairstyle assumed a different crouch, her body surrounded by a sheath of water that acted as both shield and weapon.

Wind blew at his backside as the third opponent summoned wind around her slender form, while facing him in the front a fourth young woman raised a hand and caused the very earth itself to rise up at her summoning, forming a column of dirt and stone that flowed in accordance to her will.

And all four launched simultaneous attacks at once as Chusen held his ground, raising his arms and only at the very last instant summoning his power to deflect their combined assaults as they hammered him from all directions.

Off to the side a fifth young woman looked on with arms folded, perched in the branches of a nearby tree and watching the whole affair with mingled interest and boredom. She saw each attack get met and countered as Chusen's hands channeled his energies and countered their attacks, spinning around to meet and counter their second wave as they altered their attack style, their hands and feet channeling elemental energies as flame, stone, air and water droplets went flying in all directions.

The wind came sharply in a form that sliced through the space that Chusen had occupied an instant before contact. Flame was redirected harmlessly away while stone was met and deflected, with water flowing around the point that the elusive boy vacated as he bent like a reed with the tension of a bamboo sapling.

"Not bad, Big Brother," the girl in the trees remarked, Saotome Kibo, also known as Hope among her friends and family members, observing these exchanges and rating the quality of their martial arts styles as her fellow Senken Masters practiced their craft with artistry, style, grace and unbelievable reserves of power, well beyond the scope of ordinary mortals.

Saotome Honamo, who controlled flame like she mastered her own inner Ki, was all force and power with the fluid grace of a raging inferno. Her crimson tresses flowed about her attractive face as she as she battered away at her brother's defenses, just as a fire would seek to consume a house, only to be shunted aside as he extinguished her attack, controlling pressure waves that snuffed her flames harmlessly well short of their intended target.

Saotome Umisa was like a raging typhoon as she struck with the irresistible force of a tsunami. Water manifested out of thin air as she congealed moisture particles and congealed them with her hands, shaping weapons that she launched like flood waters that sought to sweep a house off of its foundation. But Chusen easily withstood her assault by digging his heels into the earth and drawing upon its strength as a mountain might endure a raging river.

Blonde haired Saotome Arisa's attacks were not grounded to the earth but came like the sylph winds of a rising storm cloud, her feet barely touching earth as she seemed nearly to float above the soil, her attacks coming from above rather than below, much as a Cyclone sought to tear the roof off of a building.

But again Chusen doubled down and gripped the Earth with the soles of his feet and turned away the gale winds wafting all about his body. Rather than be blown away he turned back the winds and send them rebounding back at her as he drove her off and held his space inviolate of the weather.

That was when dark haired Saotome Yamase stamped her foot upon the ground and shook it, threatening to knock the house off of its foundations. He gripped the Earth only to find it turn to quicksand beneath his soles, so quickly shifted styles once again and drew upon both air and water. He created a counter-shock wave that stabilized his footing and momentarily broke the concentration of his erstwhile opponent.

Their free-form practice match went on for some minutes beyond that point, at which time Hope was closed to exhausted from watching them and wishing that she had been a participant of their combat. The platinum haired Mistress of Void attacks had noted several points within their bout when her own unique Senken might have been employed to great effect, and had she not been designated as their Spotter and Lookout she no doubt would have joined in on the free-for-all.

As it was Chusen himself drew the matter to a halt, having held his ground competently despite the best efforts of his siblings to press hard against his defenses. He had taken the best that each could muster and had proven once again his right to be an acknowledged Master.

But he seemed quite content to leave it at that while he said aloud, "That's enough fun for now, Sisters. Let's break for lunch then pick this up again in another hour."

"Ah…can we take a rain check on the follow-up?" Umisa asked, "Some of us have Waitressing duties later in the afternoon."

"That's right," Honame agreed, "Momma Ukyo wants us suited up for the business hour, which starts up in another few minutes."

"Fair point that," Chusen said, turning to the others, "That same goes for you as well, Sisters?"

"Fraid so, Bro," Arisa said, "And I've got skating duties with Coach Shiratori later in the evening."

"I have construction work myself," Yamase said, "A Tunneling project that I contracted for with Ekko's mother."

Hope alighted on the ground, using her own elemental abilities to slow her rate of descent, then straightened up and said, "So we're breaking up the Training Session? In that case I've got my own thing I'd like to get onto."

"Seems like we have competing schedules," Chusen noted, "Fair enough. I suppose it won't hurt our training too much if we take a break every now and then. Even Father's been known to do that on rare occasions."

"When our mothers will let him you mean," Arisa smiled, and several of her sisters chuckled in sympathetic agreement.

All at once Hope turned her head, frowning as she cocked one ear.

"What's wrong?" Umisa asked.

"Is something up, Kiba-chan?"

Yamase frowned, "No, I feel something…a disturbance in the ground."

All at once Home's left hand lashed out, and a flashing stream of translucent vacuum air blades sliced through the space off to her side…and fifteen meters away a tree began to topple sideways, falling with slow majesty to reveal a young man standing there, black hair bound back by a headband, looking shy and nervous as he smiled weakly and said, "Ah…hi there, Guys. Long time no see."

Arisa blinked, "Akira-kun? What are you doing here?"

"Er…that's a good question," said Hibiki Akira as he glanced around then turned back towards them, "I was trying to find the tool shed when I thought I'd heard a noise, so I came to investigate."

"Tool Shed?" Umisa asked.

"Yeah," Akira replied, "My Dad's construction company was doing a building project in the Furinken redevelopment zone…"

"That's five kilometers west of here, Dude," Honame said with a gesture in that direction.

"Looks like you've gotten lost again, Cousin," Chusen smiled, "But not to worry. We're headed back into town, so we'll be happy to help show you the way."

"Oh, would you?" relief flooded the young man's handsome features, "I'm sorry if I intruded on you guys. I wasn't spying on you to learn any techniques or anything like that."

"No problem," Hope said, "And no harm done. Happens all the time…with you."

That latter part she murmured very softly with her head turned away, but she knew that many of her siblings were thinking the exact same thing about their perpetually lost cousin, who was basically a nice enough fellow except for the familiar Hibiki family traits of enormous strength, a hair trigger temper, and the ability to get dislocated just hanging up their shirt in a closet.

On the whole amusing enough traits, except for when they were applied to his sisters, Ryoko and Kuno Tomoko. In their case his charming qualities got severely scrambled beneath a blanket of teenaged hormones that provoked two wildly different personality types whose characteristic flaw was a general stubbornness to the point of obstinacy.

Ryoko in particular, as Hope had cause to know to her chagrin.

"Arisa-chan," Chusen said, "Put a word out to Uncle Ryoga that we have cousin Akira in our company and we'll be showing him the way back home."

"Right, no prob," Arisa said, moving her hands and shaping the air into the form of a bird, then blowing it out as it took off into the sky and disappeared rapidly, to reappear once again as it arrived at its intended destination.

"Wow, never have to worry about Cell Phone roaming charges around you guys," Akira laughed and rubbed the back of his head, then sighed, murmuring under his breath, "Mom is gonna kill me…"

"She'll understand," Umisa said, ":After all, she's had plenty of practice."

"Aunt Akane can be very forgiving about a lot of things," Honame said, pausing before adding, "Unlike some of our Moms, who can be a little hard to reason with," she glanced away, rubbing the back of her flame colored hair and looking rueful.

"We don't have to mention names here, do we?" Yamase asked hopefully.

"I'm sure everyone gets the point, Sisters," Hope said, turning to Chusen, "We'll make better time if we pool our efforts, Big Brother."

"My thoughts exactly," Chusen glanced around, "That okay with you guys?"

"Sure," his sisters chimed in chorus.

"Pool our efforts?" Akira asked, seeing the five female Senken Masters fanning out to form a star formation with Chusen and Akira in the center.

"Just watch and learn, cousin," Chisen smiled reassuringly.

"Learn?" Akira asked nervously, feeling the tension in the air as his cousins began to make strange gestures and motion their hands as they crouched down and assumed strange postures, even as Chusen stretched out his hands and assumed a posture that looked something like a traditional Horse stance.

Akira felt an electric tension along his skin and said, "What's happening?"

"We're about to fly," Chusen replied..

"How exactly do we do-THAAAAT!" he cried out in dismay as he felt the air rush by as the seven of them took to the air, moving like a slowly spinning top as the forest level disappeared beneath them and they began to move rapidly in the direction of the Furinkan district.

A few moments later the brush behind them was disturbed as yet another figure stumbled out of the woods, having split a tree in half with one hand before turning and looking around in anger, dismay and confusion.

"Now where the heck am I?" asked Hibiki Ryoko, "I'd swear I saw Akira go this way. Now where did that baka get off to?"

She paused to look around, fuming impotently, only to take notice of the small disturbances in the terrain that were clearly not of natural manufacture.

"What the heck happened here?" she frowned, taking another moment to see scorch marks in the terrain, puddles of water where none should be, and broken up dirt and stone, along with trees toppled or split as if by a knife that was far sharper than any razor.

Although few would credit her with being the sharpest tool in the shed of the Hibiki household, Ryoko was quick enough to recognize the marks of Senken usage and said, "This must be Cousin Chusen's training zone. This is probably where he and his sisters go to practice their elemental arts. Hot damn! I've been looking all over for this spot, and now I find it purely by accident."

And then the redheaded, bandana-headed girl made a fist and waved it in the air, decrying, "You hear that, Kiba-chan? I've found your hidden spot! That means you can't get away from me again the next time I challenge you to a match! And this time I'll show you my Kosenken Juitsu can beat your stupid Vacuum…!"

"You ever wonder about life, Tomoko-chan?" asked Tendo Incense.

"In what way?" asked the other girl as she balanced with her hands set on the balanced beam, her whole body bent over in a jack-knife position with feet dangling almost level with her head.

"I believe that she means the vagaries and complexities of life, Tomoko dear," murmured Kuno Watazashi, who was dangling from the ceiling with her feet holding on to the rings that were suspending her in an inverted direction, "Such as the three of us, good friends and kinswomen all, having competitive feelings that have often set us against one another in regards to the same clueless individual."

"Ryokouma-kun," Incense sighed, "Proof positive that Cupid's Arrow is often aimed most wryly."

"Not to mention a pain in the butt," redheaded Tomoko straightened up and pushed off to set her whole body vertical to the beam, only to roll down and execute a classic gymnastic move that resulted in her sindupt straddling the beam with legs pointed in a downward "V" formation, "Both figuratively and literally speaking."

Watazashi spread her legs as far as she could, bringing herself up by sheer muscular control to an upright position as she reached up and gripped the chains that connected to the rings through which her feet were both inserted, then pulled loose so that she could slide her hands down and grip the rings with her now free legs held out in a vertical "L: formation.

"Some of several reasons for which I called this truce so that we might reason things out like civilized cousins are supposed to," the dark haired ponytailed girl said as she did this, "We need to step back and rationally assess what we are doing."

"No argument from me," Tomoko said from where she sat on the uneven parallel bars reading a fashion magazine on her I-phone, "Heck, I'm wondering how we even got into this rivalry business in the first place."

"Good question," Incense said as she rolled onto her back and used her neck muscles to leverage up into another handstand, "I've been wondering about that one myself."

"Perhaps it was an adolescent phase that the three of us have been moving through," Watazashi noted, "Ryo-kun is a first cousin to each of us. By rights he ought to be off-limits to any consideration of a relationship…"

"So what about cousin Belldandy?" Incense asked.

There was a slight pause then Watazashi reluctantly said, "Yes…there is that. There is always…Belldandy."

"And who can compete with absolute perfection?" Tomoko snorted with disgust as she flipped into an upright posture, catching her balance on the beam, then beginning to gracefully take steps forward as though she were poising on a catwalk runway.

"Obviously none of us," Watazashi said darkly, "And I have already foreseen where this train will disembark since she is the only one of us to whom Ryo-kun seems to be actually attracted."

"Oh, go rub it in, why don't you?" Incense growled, putting her phone away and folding herself backwards as she fell into an inverted posture, then flipped around and landed effortlessly upon her feet, finishing with a, "As if none of us were any good to compete with."

"That's a triple negative, Cuz," Tomoko said.

"Like I care," Incense stormed away, "I'm headed for the showers. And if you follow me it had better be just for getting your bods clean."

"You are suggesting we would have other motivations?" Watazashi asked coyly, not bothering to hide the fact that she admired the sway of the other girl's hips and the shape of her legs as Incense could not help but saunter in an entirely feminine manner.

"And they call my Fama a Rake," Tomoko said with a smirk towards her fellow Combat Gymnastics club member.

Watazashi paused then smiled, "So…do you want to join her in the shower?"

Tomoko made a face, "Hey, I've got nothing against peeking on girls in the shower, but the heater is still out, and me and cold water…not so good as a mix."

"But I think that your Cursed Form is rather exotic looking," Watazashi replied, "And I know that Incense-chan would appreciate it to no end."

"Yeah, right," Tomoko said dismissively, "So…are you really serious about this, Zashi-chan? You're giving up on chasing after Ryokouma-kun?"

"Ah…" Watazashi temporized, "I am…more trying to come to terms with whatever it is about the Saotome Charm that seems to gain so much favor from our peers on the female student body…."

"There's always Lilith," Tomoko pointed out.

"The only thing Male that Lilith-chan likes is either her father…or cousin Chusen," Watazashi pointed out.

"Hmmm…good point that," Tokomo conceded, thinking about it, "And Chusen only hangs around with his personal entourage of loyally protective sisters."

"The Harem as people call them," Watazashi remarked, "But Lilith-chan frightens nearly everyone, both male and female. The precise opposite quality that is inspired in her good twin, Belldandy."

"Whom everybody likes," Tomoko said, "Including us, when we ought by rights to hate her."

"All right then," Watazashi said, "Suppose we turn the question around and ask ourselves what it is that we both appear to admire about our cousin, Ryokouma?"

"Other than the fact that he's a Momma's boy and keeps saying whatever pops into his head, whether or not it gets him into trouble?" Tokomo asked.

"Just like Uncle Ranma," Watazashi remarked, "Only he is also kind, considerate, brave and handsome."

"And has a nice tush," Tokomo noted.

"I believe that I just implied that," Watazashi noted.

"And despite his poor social skills he does come through for people in a pinch," Tokomo noted.

"He is crude but has the makings of a gentleman," Watazashi remarked, "Certainly a lot of room there for growth potential."

"He's a good fighter," Tokomo said, "Almost as good as his sibs, and many of them are older."

"Good potential for growth there as well," Watazashi mused, "If his path could be guided by the right sort of woman."

Tokomo glanced at her cousin and frowned, "He's kind, thoughtful, honest, a good student, thinks more about others than he does about himself."

"And it does not hurt matters that he is easy on the eye," Watazashi murmured.

"And has a cute butt," Tokomo noted.

"Well…" Watazashi shrugged, "There is always that…"

There was a lengthy pause this time as the young women considered their next words, eyeing each other with suspicion, then pretending not to notice.

Watazashi cleared her throat, "Perhaps I should check upon dear Incense-chan and see what is taking her. By now she ought to have come out of the showers."

"Yeah, do that," Tomoko said, murmuring under her breath, "Curse or no curse, I think I could use a cold shower about now…"

Watazashi started to move off towards the lockers, but no sooner had she taken three steps then a strange melodious laughter filled the air, causing her to halt in surprise and say, "That laugh…"

Tokomo whirled about herself and said, "It's her!"

"She's come back," Watazashi said as the two young ladies reached down and drew weapons in the form of the ribbons in their hair and stood at the ready as they instinctively moved to flank one another.

"All this talk about a boy," a feminine voice chuckled wryly, "I've been away for a while, but it seems that you still are as foolish and shallow minded as ever, sweet Cousins."

"Tyger," Tokomo hissed, "Show yourself, you Witch!"

"You cannot hide from us," Watazashi raised her guard, "And we will not go down quietly if you face us!"

"Oh, I am counting on that," came a dire chuckling sound from directly above them, and when both young women turned their heads to look they found a feminine form dropping spider-like down towards them with a menacing grin written large upon her features…

"There you are, Sister," Belldandy Steinberg Tendo smiled brightly as she turned her head towards a shadow beneath a tree, "I was wondering where you had gotten yourself off to."

Lilith Tendo moved out into the light, a shadow detatching itself from shadows, revealing a near identical vision that was counterpoint to her lighter haired twin sibling. Bell was bathed in radiant light, like always, a creature of the Sun and light who was in so many ways the opposite to Lilith's nature, which was of the moonlit night. The contrast between them was every bit as striking to her as it was to others who tended inevitably to compare them in this manner.

And yet there was no one who was dearer to Lilith than her beloved sister. Belldandy might cast Lilith in the shadows, but she complimented Lilith in ways that made them feel like two parts of a greater whole. Apart they were somehow diminished, but together…they were mirror reflections of a single complex person.

"I had a few things to attend to," Lilith replied, having made careful to dab her lips with her kerchief and be sure to clear her fangs of blood before seeking out her sister, "And a light snack to make sure I won't get hungry before nightfall."

"That's nice," Belldandy replied, turning and heading down the lane with Lilith falling naturally in step with the pace she set, "I had a few things to attend to with my friends. Some club activities that I promised to take part in latter in the week."

"Not volleyball I hope," Lilith said, trying not to sound sarcastic.

Belldandy blushed a bit then said, "No, but…I won't say that it is my least favorite sport. I do enjoy the group activity and the occasional…encounter…that can make it feel so personal and friendly."

Lilith scowled, which some would have called her natural condition, "Too personal if you ask me. Just imagine the clumsiness of that off, Ryokouma…"

"I do wish you would not speak of him like that, Sister," Belldandy gently chided, "It was not his fault that we missed the point like that…"

"The point I'm making isn't that you missed," Lilith growled, "It's where he connected to which I am complaining."

"Oh," Belldandy glanced away, "Well…in truth I wouldn't mind it if he were doing that deliberately…"

"You what?" Lilith said in surprise.

"It would be nice if Ryo-kun took more of an initiative," Belldandy said, "He's shy, and I wish that I could cure him of that…because I would very much like to see him be more assertive. He is such a dear fellow, but he allows himself to be too easily intimidated, and for once it would cheer me to find him standing up for himself and behaving more…manly."

Lilith stopped dead in her tracks and Belldandy took a moment to notice, but when she turned around with a questioning look she was surprised to see her twin looking at her as though she had grown a second head, like one of their distant cousins.

"Assertive?" Lilith all but sputtered, " 'Manly? Ryokouma?"

"Oh," Belldandy thought she perceived the reason for her sister's confusion, "Yes, you see I think boys should stand up for themselves and accept their masculine qualities and embrace their hormones. They would be much happier if they did not get so easily intimidated and were completely honest with their feelings, especially around women."

Lilith blinked, which was the only response that she could give that would not make her seem like a total Zombie at that point.

"Boys here in Nerima," Belldandy sighed, "They act aggressive and macho, at least some of the time, but you can tell it's mostly just an act and they are only compensating for deep rooted feelings of inadequacy." She sighed, "Because when they actually attempt to stand up for themselves…they get shot down by our cousins and are made to fee so…unmanly."

"Wait," Lilith said, "You think boys should be more aggressive with girls?"

"At least to the extent that they make it known how they truly feel about a woman," Belldandy said, "Unfortunately…to many young ladies are not very honest about their own feelings and tend to reject them out of hand. It's very hard for the male ego to cope with continuous rejection, don't you know? After a while your whole self worth becomes an issue."

"So?" Lilith asked, "They're Boys. And besides, some act like they're preening cocks to whom women should be beholden for their mere existence."

"Like I said, that's just overcompensation," Belldandy reasoned, "And in truth we girls don't make it all that easy for them to be honest with us. Too many tend to reject the advances of a boy who comes on a little too aggressively, like you do around Victor Maximoff."

"Maximoff?" Lilith all but spat the word, "That low-hanging barbarian who thinks that he's the gift of the Darkness? And that I should be his girlfriend just because we share the same Blood Type?"

"He's not as bad a fellow as his father," Belldandy reasoned, "In fact he can be quite charming when he comes by to court you."

"I'd rather eat Stake for breakfast!" Lilith spat, "Next to him even Julep of the Musk Tribe is humility personified!"

"Again, someone else who would like to be much closer to you if you did not keep rejecting them all of the time," Belldandy said persuasively, "But like to many young women of our generation you would rather be attracted to the unattainable and unavailable, like our dear cousin, Chusen."

Lilith's cheeks immediately flushed crimson and she glanced away, "At least he's of the same species. And Chusen never forces himself on anybody."

"He never has to," Belldandy replied, "Chusen-kun is popular without having to advertise it as a fact. It is only because his sisters form such a protective ring around him to keep other women apart that has kept many suitors, such as yourself, from advancing onto the field of courtship."

"You mean because I'd rather not get fried, drowned, buried, suffocated and wind-blown into the next country?" Lilith sniffed, "Those damned Elemental spawned Bitches of his, acting like he's too good for any woman to be with…"

"They take their roles as his protectors very seriously," Belldandy noted, "Chusen is an Eluini, and-according to Grandfather Maitreya-he needs constant protection against the hand of the Old Ones, who might otherwise try and despoil his purity before his power fully ripens."

"And that's the excuse, just because Buddha himself says he needs time to reach his full power level?" Lilith snorted, "He's already easily as powerful as us, and we're Eluini too, in case you might have forgotten."

"Yes, but the Old Ones are not after us," Belldandy said, "We frighten them, and not merely because of our parents."

"We frighten them because-aside from Midori Kalimari-we're the two most feared Ghost Sweepers this side of Sait Hibariki High School," Lilith retorted, "Even Shikima don't dare poke their tentacles our way for fear that we'll snap them off at the root."

Belldandy pouted, "Sister, I wish that you would not speak so harshly about Kalimari's relatives. Shikima may be a bit aggressive, even rude, when it comes to seeking dates, but they are hardly the most unpleasant sorts where it comes to demonspawn of the Alternate dimensions."

"What, you mean like Amano Lamyra, the Beast Woman who keeps hassling you for dates?" Lilith asked.

"Lamyra…is a friend, of sorts," Belldandy shrugged, "But what I really mean to say is…there are worse things than having a boy admit that he is attracted to you. And far worse things than confessing that you are attracted to him…or to another girl, depending on who you find yourself with."

Lilith had to silently admit that the "Sweetness and Light" reputation of her sister was somewhat in the eye of the beholder. True Belldandy tended to see the good in everybody-even those who were not, strictly speaking, human-but when it came to a worldly sense of biology and physiology…well…

Innocent to the ways of the flesh was definitely not one of Bell-chan's deficiencies.

Which reminded Lilith an awful lot about their mutual mother, who tended to be a lot like that herself in ways that often flouted expectations. Lilith took more after their father in that she had a cynical and sarcastic bend to her thinking about certain matters like sexual activity. She would prefer to reserve her energies for people whom she felt actually mattered .

But Belldandy was generous with everyone, and no doubt would be generous as well with her body, perhaps one additional reason why the Shikima never bothered her-instinctive self-preservation, since Bell had the stamina of a bull and could likely outlast any horde of demons who might try and take her on. Even the Beast Woman, Lamyra, considered Belldandy, "Exhausting."

Not that Lilith had any desire herself to inquire into that particular matter. It was enough merely to know that Belldandy was a long way from being a pristine pure virgin, and in that one area Lilith was the much less experienced, for which she supposed that she could take some small degree of comfort.

"So…if Ryokouma ever got enough balls to actually approach you…?" Lilith asked, dreading that she already knew the answer.

"I would take him aside and show him a good time," Belldandy admitted, "And see if, perhaps, there might be ways of encouraging him to…ah…seek me out regularly…just in case he needs some lessons."

Lilith closed her eyes and murmured, "No further questions."

"So, if either Victor or Julep comes around seeking to court you…" Belldandy said.

"I'll tell them to take a long hike off a short gallows, and I'll even supply the rope," Lilith started forward, determined not to let her perpetually cheerful sister try and talk her into something that Lilith knew she would regret for the rest of eternity…if not considerably longer.

"Oh, by the way," Belldandy said as she fell back in step beside her twin, "Mother asked us to stop by the clinic to check in with her. It seems Father is away once more on another business venture, and Fama is plane traveling to consult with the Oracles of Kala 'Tiierma…"

"In other words Mom is lonely and wants to give us both a routine checkup," Lilith sniffed, "All right, but it'd better be a short visit. Mom gets a little too carried away with her examinations. I almost feel like I'm in an Air Port terminal getting frisked for contraband."

"You can't blame her for being too cautious," Belldandy noted.

"What?" Lilith said in disbelief, "We're nigh-immortal Demi-human creatures with perfect health and limitless vitality, Sister. If there's one thing that's even more scared of our bodies than Shikima it's disease causing viruses and the like."

"Yes, but there are other things that Mother is concerned about," Belldandy said, "And young women of our age can never be too careful."

"Hah?" Lilith said, then blinked, "No way…you don't mean…that?"

"As I said," Belldandy replied, "Never too cautious. After all, have you ever known as Shikima to use a condom?"

"That's ridiculous!" Lilith all but exploded, "I haven't been with a man-ever! Not even that time when Victor tied me up in his dungeon and tried to seduce me!"

"You see?" Belldandy remarked, "He didn't try and force himself on you, which means that he wanted to be a gentleman."

Lilith struggled with words when they both heard a soft feminine chuckle from somewhere close nearby, followed by a sultry, "And people wonder why you two are among my favorite kinswomen…"

"Oh my," Belldandy glanced around, "Is that…?"

"Tyger," Lilith hissed, crouching down and assuming a defensive posture, "The only thing Human who comes close to being worse than Maximoff."

"You are comparing me to that delusional incompetent of a Vampyr?" the woman's voice asked, "Now I am insulted."

"Show yourself and I'll rip your throat out," Lilith snarled.

"Hmmm, tempting," the voice remarked, "But instead I think that I'll do…this!"

Both twins saw something spring up in the air before them, momentarily blocking out their vision as it rapidly unfolded itself to expand around their field of vision, and then they felt constricted and contained as it blanketed them completely and pressed them both against one another for all the power that they exerted in an attempt at freedom…

"Oh man, I thought they'd never leave me alone," Ryokouma said as he detached himself from concealment, then cautiously stepped beyond the bushes while looking around, just in case his overly enthusiastic pursuers might double back to hunker down upon his trail.

Most young men at Furinkan had, at worst, to worry about studying for their mid-terms. But Ryokouma was an ace student with perfect memory and a power to recall so detailed that he could copy a textbook verbatim on notebook paper. Other boys worried about their popularity and how they could attract the attentions of their female fellow students.

Ryokouma just worried about staying alive and one step ahead of the mob of admirers who routinely chased after him. Nearly every girl who was Hetero at their school thought he was a dreamy hunk who they wanted to nail as their boyfriend for the bragging rights. And all because of that stupid "Idol Singer" contest that he got into after being challenged by Senzenin Asura over some dumb point involving a pickle.

Since winning the prize-and appearing on Television at the game show version of the contest-he had become the local hometown hero whom girls of his age group swooned over and kept posters of by their bed (and he did not even want to think what they were doing in front of his image in the privacy of their rooms).

And his already complicated life had gotten a whole lot stranger and weirder as a consequence of his sudden popularity. Two months later and his name was still spoken of across town in the terms of a "young Elvis." He could hardly go anywhere without people pointing to him and drawing a crowd. Even his parents restaurant, where he worked part time after school hours, was often filled with eager young girls seeking to catch a glimpse of him in a Busboy uniform.

He could understand if it if it were one of his sisters, who were all stunningly attractive, many of them working out as Waitresses at the Nekohanten, but to be the object of obsession by himself? That was more than a bit disconcerting. The more so as it tended to interfere with his actual plans to want to get closer to his cousin, Belldandy, the only girl with whom he wanted to spend time, in that manner of speaking.

He looked around, sensing that the coast was clear, but just in case was about to take to the rooftops in order to avoid possible detection…when he heard a rumbling noise and turned around. A familiar bellowing noise was drawing his attention in a different direction than the one to which he had been heading, and as he rounded the corner of a building he saw at once the cause of the commotion, which was hardly unexpected.

A creature, nine feet tall easily, and sporting a head like a bull with torso to match, albeit quite human with folded wings on his back, was making sounds of distrait misery and frustration. He moved on bow-legs that were shuffling with hooves upon the sidewalk, looking as though he were daring the world to make an issue of his existence, and earning panicky looks from those strangers who saw his advance and-wisely-fled with great haste in the opposite direction.

At this Ryokouma came forward and said, "Minos! Over here!"

The creature turned around and made inquiring noises, spotting the slight figure of the young boy after only a few moments of trying to get a focus.

"You got wet again, didn't you?" Ryokouma asked, then raised his hands and said, "Hey, it's just a rhetorical quesiton, Dude. Here, let me help you out."

Taking a moment to channel his internal reserves of Ki, Ryokouma concentrated, thinking of air and all of the moisture that was in the atmosphere, then using the "Cool Ki" technique to shape the air with his hands as though visualizing a sponge, causing a globe of water to congeal into a basketball-sized globe of permeable water.

Then he shifted his focus to his "Hot Ki" and visualized the molecules of the water becoming more excited, then pushed outward with his hand, causing the globe to sail out from him directly at the creature.

It struck the beast-man in the face, causing it to bellow in complaint just before its form began to shifter, alter and congeal, fur being replaced with a school uniform as legs became fully human. And instants later take on the more recognizably human appearance of Minos Taro, who sputtered and gasped, "Ow! Hey…Hot water, not scalding!"

"Sorry about that," Ryokouma approached the other fellow and sniffed, "Don't tell me you were picking fights with Ekko again? Dude, when are you going to learn?"

"I know," Minos growled turning away, "It's just…I can't stand her! She's so stuck up and snobbish about her superiority, she just makes me so crazy!"

"She's also a thousand times out of your league," Ryokouma pointed out, "So why do you keep trying to challenge her when you know you'll get your ass kicked?"

"When did that ever stop you for getting into a fight?" Minos countered.

"Yeah, but most of my sparring partners at least are human," Ryokouma said, "Certain close female relations notwithstanding."

Minos cleared his eyes by rubbing his hand over his face then said, "Thanks for the hot water anyway. I really hate when I get turned into my cursed form. It takes me too long to find water that can change me back. And with the heater out of commission…"

"Hey, you're in the same boat as everyone else with a Jusenkyo curse," Ryokouma reasoned, "Sure glad that's not one of my problems. I've got enough of them as it is."

"Oh yeah, like your problems such a burden," Minos snorted, "Man, you've got to be the most popular Dude in our school, except for your brother."

"You want popularity you can have it," Ryokouma said dismissively, "Trust me, it's way overrated."

"I think I'd rather find that one out for myself, Dude," Minos glanced around, "Ah…by the way, have you seen your sister?"

"Which one-oh, wait," Ryokouma self corrected, "You mean Lylac, don't you?"

"Who said I was thinking about her?" Minos said a bit too hastily.

"Dude, it's all but written on your face," Ryokouma said, "Every time I mention her you go into major-league freak-out mode. Whenever she's around you stumble and stutter and act like a kid…and no wonder you pick fights with Ekko!"

"What are you talking about?" Minos sounded panicky.

"Man, I must be dumb not to see this," Ryokouma smacked himself with one palm against his forehead, "It all makes sense now. She's your rival!"

"No she isn't!" Minos said with rounded eyes.

"So you've got a thing for my Big Sister," Ryokouma smiled, "Doesn't bother you at all that she's half guy?"

"Dude, you're tripping," Minos turned away, "I don't care about that purple haired Tomboy. Why should I?"

"I guess it wouldn't hurt then for me to ask Lylac-oneechan what she thinks about you…"

Minos whirled around and grabbed Ryokouma by his school uniform, "You wouldn't dare! Do that and I'll…"

Ryokouma just smiled, gripped his best friend by the wrists and used his forward momentum to flip the fellow over so that Minos went tumbling ass-over-teakettle, only to pin the boy to the concrete as he brought his weight to bear upon the small of his back.

"How is that again, Old Buddy?" Ryokouma asked, murmuring into the ear of his helpless friend as Minos struggled in an effort to break his pin, "So, are you going to fess up or do I keep you there until you confess."

"I confess!" Minos said, changing tactics as he knew full well that the slighter boy was capable of holding him down for a day and an evening, "Ilike her, so let me go already!"

Ryokouma did just that, stepping away and saying, "Now that didn't hurt so much, did it? So…you've got a secret thing for my big sister?"

Minos rubbed his wrists and glared at the other boy, but sniffed, "Okay, yeah…I think she's hot. Don't care about the curse…at least when she gets wet she remains human."

"Man, I don't get it," Ryokouma shook his head, "Oneechan's cute and smart and basically nice and everything, but she's got a lot of stuff going on in her life, and I don't think I could handle being in a relationship with somebody who carriies that much baggage."

"Of course you don't," Minos snorted derisively, "You've got a thing for your cousin, the unattainable perfection that is Belldandy."

Ryokouma frowned, "Low blow, Dude."

"Yeah…I guess it is at that," Minos sighed, "Sorry, guess I'm just a little edgy today. Man, I trained for a week to master that technique, and that damned Ekko flips me off by giving me the finger!"

"I'd take that any day to having to face down Lilith," Ryokouma countered.

"Who wouldn't?" Minos shuddered, "Don't get me wrong, Ryo-kun, but your family sometimes seems like a bunch of total weirdoes."

"Nothing I haven't said myself a hundred times over," Ryokouma noted.

"You got a sister who turns into a guy, another who gets furry when wet, a cousin who…hell, I don't know what to call her cursed form. Pigs that fly or something like that. Then there's Shamran, who'll chase just about anything on two legs, male or female, as long as he or she's warm blooded…"

"And even that's not a deal breaker where Shamran's concerned," Ryokouma pointed out.

"You got sisters who control the elements, a brother who's like God's gift to everybody, a cousin who's part goddess and the other one who's on a strict liquid diet."

"Then there's the trio who make my life so interesting," Ryokouma snorted, "Incense, Watazashi and Tokomo."

"You're about the only guy I know who'd complain about that," Minos noted, "Then there's Yoyo, the sister you hardly ever see…"

"And the other sister I'd rather never see again, like…ever," Ryokouma sniffed, only to see a passing shadow that looked familiar crossing by, which prompted him to grab Minos by the arm and say, "HEADS UP!"

They barely got out of the way in time as a cheerful, "NIHAO!" heralded the appearance of Fragrance, whose bike landed in the space that they had just vacated, bouncing as the brown haired girl straddling the two wheeled racer as she hurried on by and headed back in the direction from which they had just come.

Minos straightened himself up and said, "Was she trying to nail us deliberately just now?"

"Who can say?" Ryokouma asked, "She's nailed me plenty of times over the years. After a while you get an instinct that tells you when to expect her."

Minos shook his head and growled, "And they call me a menace to society. Next to that crazy maniac you call a sister I'm practically an upstanding citizen."

"I think I saw her carrying delivery boxes in the warm bag on her bike," Ryokouma said, "She must be working for Mom at the Nekohanten making deliveries. Too bad, I was thinking about stopping by there on the way back to the Dojo."

"Same here," Minos sniffed, "But if Fragrance is working her shift I think I'd rather go hungry. Not that she's bad to look at and all, but still…"

"Yeah, I know," Ryokouma shrugged, "She's Fragrance."

"And nothing else need be added," Minos turned back as they continued tio head off in the direction that they had intended, unaware of predatory eyes that were spying them from a covert distance, not the least bit interested in them per se, but just the same wary and alert to the fact that they were unlikely to be an issue if they kept on moving away from her intended destination.

After all, Ignorance was bliss, especially for Males who were not a part of her larger agenda for the evening as she sought out her true prey in the hopes of an impending encounter, and a reunion that would be to remember…

The Nekohanten "Cat Café" was a popular dining spot in the Furinkan Financial district.

By popular one meant, of course, that the food was great, the service excellent and the Waitresses were all highly attractive and vivacious as they served the patrons with grace, cheer and a healthy dose of Martial Arts Gymnastics.

Owned and run by certain key controlling members of the Tendo-Saotome-Kuonji family Enterprises, for close to eighteen years it had provided some of the best Ramen and Okonomiyaki that was to be had in all of Japan, quite possibly the whole entire planet.

And here it was close to the dinner hour and the place was half full with many of the usual patrons sitting about enjoying a meal and the show that was being put on for their benefit, care of the staff, who were all close-knit family members.

Lylac looked up in time to see her father's second wife, Kuonji Ukyo, hurl a plate full of Ranma in the air, which was caught by her father's third wife, Shampoo, who passed along to his fourth wife, Kuonji Perfume, who deposited it at the designated table where the customer was waiting, all to the delight of the patrons who applauded the sight, which was typical of the way that food got delivered in this place.

Shampoo switched places with Ukyo and took over the Ramen part, and passed along her delivery to her co-wives as bowls seemed to magically appear before customers with an ease that made it seem more like a training exercise than a routine manner of doing business.

Orders went flying, but-strangely-none of it fell off mark or landed in an improper place, like on a customer's head or lap, and it was all done with such style and efficiency that it looked like a precision well oiled machine. Orders came and went like clockwork, and Lylac saw that her aunt Kurumi was helping out as her ribbon flew across the room, while her husband, Uncle Mousse, was performing magical parlor tricks for the amusement of the patrons.

And, further on to the center of the complex, where the Martial Arts square platform had been erected a decade ago for this very purpose, was Lylac's father-mother, Saotome Nabiki, engaged in a full contact sparring match with her uncle Taro. The two were circling warily around the well-lit square as each was feeling out the defenses of the other, but Lylac could tell that it was not a full match fight. The antagonists were much too casual and easy in their movements with none of the usual tension that accompanied a real match.

It was not that they were taking it too easy, it was simply that their match was purely for the entertainment of the patrons, which meant that most of their high level abilities were being left on the sideline. This was purely a show match that was more sport and play than serious fighting.

After all, if Uncle Taro and her Fama really did cut loose full force then the entire city block might not long be standing.

Ever since making parole Uncle Taro had come to work for Lylac's fama, a woman he once had kidnapped for the mistaken purpose of attempting to coerce great-grandfather Happosai. The man had mellowed out after her Fama had convinced the family patriarch to relent in allowing Taro to choose a name for himself other than, "Pantsaru."

Of course her fama did nothing for free, or by halves, so Taro had to work to impress everybody that he was a changed man, and not merely because he had a Jusenkyo curse, something else that he had passed on to his son, Minos, who was now a classmate at Furinkan.

She heard Eileen sniff and said, "Ekko-chan…"

"I know," Eileen replied, "It's just that I can never quite look past what that fellow almost did to your Fama. If it had been my parents they would not have been so forgiving."

Lylac knew better than to argue, but in the next moment she had to dodge as she felt a ribbon coming close to snapping on her bottom, and she whirled about to confront her Aunt Kurumi, who was scowling right at her as though accusing her of all manner of moral defect.

"And just where have you been, young lady?" Kurumi asked, "Your shift is supposed to start in another five minutes."

"Sorry Auntie," Lylac made a pleading motion with her hands and smiled, "I'll get suited up in the back and be right out here before Mom and Fama start to worry."

"You had better," Kurumi said, then glanced at Eileen and said, "Are you here to work, eat or just admire the scenery, young lady?"

"A bit of all three, Tendo-san," Eileen replied, "But if you have an extra uniform I would not be averse to helping out."

"That's good," Kurumi's expression lightened somewhat, "Because the other girls are late for their shifts and we've got a lot of customers demanding okonomiyaki and ramen, and not in any particular order."

"Even cousins Watazashi and Tokomo?" Lylac asked in surprise.

"And Incense," Eileen said as she looked directly at Kurumi, who flinched slightly at the mention of her daughter.

"No one has shown up for their scheduled work times," Kurumi said, "And I'm starting to get annoyed about that. I've called their cell phone numbers but they appear to be turned off because I keep getting voice mail."

"What is the message?" Eileen asked.

"Here, let me see," Lylac pulled out her own phone and hit the speed dial on one of the stored numbers, then listened for a moment before pausing to type in a password. She then raised the volume so that it could act as a speakerphone as she held it up for the others to hear the message.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Darlings," a sultry voice that dripped with honey said, "But the party you are attempting to contact is all tied up at the moment and cannot come to the phone…"

"Who is that?" Kurumi blinked, "That doesn't sound like my daughter…"

"But if you leave a name and number I'm sure she will be eager to grunt out a reply in your direction…"

"Tyger," Eileen almost hissed the name, exchanging looks with Lylac, "She is back."

"Obviously," Lylac said with a grim expression, recalling all too well her least favorite of all siblings and resident "Black Sheep" of the family, whose primary interest appeared to be in acquiring the family itself through hostile takeover.

"Oh, and Lylac, Darling," the voice said with dripping insinuation, "In case you have your faithful pet Demi-human listening in with you, do tell her to drop by so that we can renew old acquaintances and rectify any past misunderstandings that may exist between us…"

Eileen frowned, and for anyone who knew her that was very much a "not goo" thing.

"She is baiting me," she murmured while balling a fist, recalling all too well the content of her last confrontation with Tyger, and why she very much wished to keep the details of that exchange as far away from Lylac's awareness as could be humanly managed.

"Tyger-Tiger?" Kurumi blinked, "Is that…?"

"My half-sister, the daughter of Madam Lao," Lylac turned and said, "Auntie, please give Mother and Fama my apologies and tell them something urgent just came up that requires my attention…and don't tell them what-or who-it's about."

"Why?" Kurumi asked, "Are you thinking about doing this solo?"

"I have to," Lylac said, already moving for the exit, "Tyger is here for me. She's not interested in Incense or any of the others. She just wants to bait me into an ambush."

"And you feel obliged to comply with her on this?" Eileen said, falling in step with her best friend as though the question of being left behind were not even to be considered.

"Obliged isn't the word that I'd care to use," Lylac kept her tone deliberately lowered so as not to attract any more undue interest, "But if we get the rest of the family involved it'll just make things more complicated than they already are. But think about it…Incense has probably been taken. Most likely Watazashi and Tokomo were also on the list. There's no telling how many other family members she's come after by now, except to be sure that she'll only target the girls."

"Because Tyger has no interest in boys," Eileen remarked, "Just like her mother."

"And if the parents get into this it'll just escalate things and make Tyger go to ground until she can pick us off one-by-one from ambush," Lylac got to the street and then vaulted up onto the ceiling, followed in short order by Eileen, who was even more effortless in leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

"But you hope that she will expose herself before you if the odds are more in her favor," Eileen said as she easily matched the pace of her urgently motivated girlfriend.

"In which case maybe you should hang back and serve as backup, just in case it's needed," Lylac noted.

"Negative," Eileen replied, "You heard her include me in this discussion. She knows that I will be coming and would never leave you by yourself to face her solo."

"That's sweet, but I think I can take her on my own," Lylac replied, "I beat her the last time."

"Only by the skin of your wits," Eileen noted, "And she has had time to prepare, so it would be best for us to combine resources and se if we can successfully outthink her."

"Unfortunately she's probably taken even that into consideration," Lylac said as they left the Furinkan Financial district and headed for the suburbs, "She prides herself as a tactician."

"And tends to redundancy when it comes to the laying of traps," Eileen reflected, "Sow where are we headed in such a great hurry?"

"Where else?" Lylac replied, "There's only one place that Tyger would consider a suitable location for our rematch…:

"The Dojo," Eileen nodded sagely, "I rather thought as much from the direction and haste with which you are taking us."

"Somehow it always comes down to the dojo in one way or another," Eileen said as they landed in the yard of her family's private estate, then glanced around the yard surrounding the house as she murmured, "So far so good. Nothing obvious here."

"But no doubt full of deceptive hazards that wait to trap the uninitiated," Eileen replied, assuming a crouch as she and Lylac confronted the challenges that were before them, "The house seems not to be disturbed, which means that it is the Dojo to which we should pay our respects."

"Like I said before," Lylac murmured while glancing cautiously at every possible trap point that she could identify, "It always comes back to the Dojo."

"Indeed," Eileen replied as they approached the complex in question, which had expanded out considerably from the humble state that it had been in the days of their childhood, before Lylac's "Otokasan"* had purchased the land of their neighbors in order to expand their lot to meet the needs of a growing family.

"No sign of Hibiichan," Lylac said, making a reference to her "Great-Great-Great Grandmother," who was normally checking in around this time to make certain that the Elders were "not up to anything foolish," as she liked to term it when Cologne the Tribal Elder was in town to pay them a visit.

"The Old Man also appears not to be in residence," Eileen said as they cautiously approached the front doorways, which were shut rather than open, open being their normal state this time of the day when the warm weather required airing out the place before afternoon class was in session.

Lylac stood before the partition and hesitated, stretching out her senses, feeling the air and opening her mind to any hint of possible threat or danger. There was a kind of tension present, but strangely muted, as though no threat were being directed at her at that particular moment.

But still…it never hurt to be cautious.

As the designated Heir to the Anything Goes School she knew a vast array of martial arts techniques, and from her arsenal she drew upon her own version of the family's infamous "Senken-juitsu," the "Rising Steal" maneuver that required her to thrust both hands together like twin spears being jabbed at the doorway, but falling just short of actually touching the wood-framed ricepaper partition as she extended a kindof "Negative Chi" to create a wedge opening, then motioned with her hands as though parting the doors without making contact.

She was tensed and ready for traps, everything from wire-hinged spring mechanisms to more sophisticated electrical devices. At her side Eileen was ready to spring forward and offer a "human shield" in case it turned out that an explosive device was being employed for the unwary. She could easily withstand a concussive wave that would kill a normal human, just as Lylac was tapping into the flow of energies through the wood in the floor through the contact point of her bare feet in order to gain the resilience of cellulose fiber as she would bend her body like a reed to meet a wave so that she could herself withstand a force that was more than the tolerance levels of an ordinary human.

But neither young girl was entirely prepared for the sight that greeted them as they gazed into the dojo itself and found that they had been expected after all, and that the one leering at them with a predatory smile had gone to great extents in order to create the sort of atmosphere most pleasing to her mode of thinking.

"Welcome, Sweet Sister," she said, "I've been expecting you. And your little pet with you."

Eileen frowned but said nothing, for little needed to be said at the moment as they beheld the sight of more than a half dozen of the Saotome/Tendo/Kuonji family's finest on display, all bound up in ropes in the style of a Shibari Master in postures made no less uncomfortable and awkward by the fact that Lylac's cousins and sisters had been stripped of all clothing, as well as dignity for the moment.

There was Shamran and Fragrance, Lylac's much beloved sisters, dangling above the floor with eyes as wide as dinner plates, held motionless in postures that were clearly intended to display their lithe and well-curbed bodies to good effect, much though they seemed not to appreciate the aesthetic.

Likewise for Tomoko, Incense and Watazashi, the latter glaring with a look that was most baleful, but unable to give voice to her complaints as her mouth was full of a two inch rubber ball held strapped in place, her glare being enough to speak volumes for her outrage at their condition.

But most surprising of all were Belldandy and Lilith, the two most formidable of all their closest kin, who were no less dismayed at finding themselves in the same helpless condition as the others. Belldandy was round-eyed and worried looking, but Lillith's glare was such that it put even Watazashi's eyes to shame for the blood-thirsty way that they were promising dire retributions.

"You have been busy, haven't you…Sister?" Lylac said as calmly as she was able, knowing better than to let emotion affect her in this moment as she turned her focus upon the leather-clad woman who stood at the center of it all, as if to showcase her "prized catches" in the manner with which a Circus entertainer might display exotic animals in their cages.

"I pride myself for having an active lifestyle," said the wiry Tyger-Tiger, daughter of the infamous Madam Lao and a self-styled "Pirate Slaver" who took after her mother in ways that even the renegade Amazon Mistress of the POJ disdained to traverse. "Like my handiwork? I rather fancy that my rope work has improved since our last reunion."

"What do you want, Alley-Cat?" Eileen's voice was calm and even, but anyone who knew her would have recognized that she was inwardly seething.

"Why, isn't that obvious enough?" Tyger replied, all six foot even with a tawdry mane of crimson hair streaked with black, as suited her name totem, "I want to add the one prize who has so far eluded me in my collection. These others were dull sport, easily taken and reclaimed by their rightful Mistress. But you, sweet Lylac…you are a challenge against which I shall hone my skills and sharpen my claws before I fully eat you. Are you prepared to be devoured by me, sweet Sister?"

"Not a chance," Lylac stood her ground and prepared to defend it, "You have violated the sanctity of my house and dishonored my family one time too often, Sister. So I must ask you to leave…or be prepared to be expelled."

"One way or another," Eileen affirmed, knowing better than to directly interfere, but having every intention of lending her support to her best friend, even if it might go against Lylac's own wishes.

"Ah, yes, the family Pet," Tyger grinned, "I haven't forgotten about you and your Kryptonian ancestry, Amazon. In fact, as a courtesy to show you my respect I brought along a little present that I thought you might savor."

"I want nothing that is yours to share," Eileen replied, only to look startled as Tyger held up a hand and revealed that she had been holding a rope, which she released, causing an object to drop down from the rafters, falling just shy of the floor as the ropes binding her naked body prevented her from making contact.

"Geena!" Eileen declared, and suddenly matters became a whole lot more personal for all parties concerned as the fateful reunion began between the residents of Nerima…and the sister whom none of them much cared to acknowledge…

Continued.

Tyger is Back and looking for trouble, but will Lylac and Ekko take her up on the challenge that she offers, or will they bid a sad "Bon Voyage" to some of their favorite female kinswomen? Be here for the next fateful installment, same Ranma/Nabiki Time, same Ranma/Nabiki channel. Aloha!

ROLL CALL: Tendo/Saotome/Kuonji Clan Members

Lylac Tendo -Daughter of Shampoo and Nabiki

Shamran Saoitome -Daughter of Shampoo and Ranma

Fragrance Kuonji -Daughter of Ukyo and Perfume

Ryokouma Saotome -Son of Ukyo and Ranma

Chusen Saotome -Son of Nabiki and Ranma

Kiba (Hope) -Daughter of Sobriel and Ranma

Honome -Daughter of Latisha and Ranma

Arisha -Daughter of Karina and Ranma

Umisa -Daughter of Sharil and Ranma

Yamase -Daughter of Nagisha and Ranma

Tyger Tiger -Daughter of Nabiki and Lao

Belldandy Steinberg -Daughter of Kasumi and Thelendra

Lilith Steinberg -Daughter of Kasumi and Frank

Watazashi Kuno -Daughter of Natsume and Kuno

Incense Tendo -Daughter of Kurumi and Mousse

Tokomo Kuno -Daughter of Kodachi, Keiko and Ryoga

Akira Hibiki -Son of Akane and Ryoga

Ryoko Hibiki -Daughter of Akane and Ryoga

Eileen Kent Kane Managi Daitokuji-Daughter of Aiko and Beiko

Geena Kane Kent Daitokuji Managi-Daughter of Beiko and Aiko

Minos Taro -Son of Akari and Pantsaru Taro

*Otokasan (fathermother) or Okatosan (Motherfather) for Nabiki1/2 or B-ko. ;)

X


	2. Chapter 2

DnabInherit02

Inherit the Storm

Part Two

"Tyger-Tiger Burning Bright"

By

Jim Robert Bader

Dateline, Nerima: 2012

Continuity # 59343921.40

"Hey, I thought we were going to the restaurant," Minos said as he saw his friend divert off course from their previously stated destination.

"I know, but I thought I'd check in with Pop and see how he's doing," Ryokouma said as he headed across the street to the large Firehouse building that was just down the block from the Nekohaten.

Minos shrugged and decided to tag along. After all, his best friend's dad was a pretty cool guy, no matter what his own father had to say about him.

And besides, it was a place full of really hot chicks of the previous generation who tended to gather around the Saotome Patriarch, some being Ryokouma's "Aunts" in a technical sense, and-strictly speaking-not entirely human.

But still easy on the eye, which was why he caught a smile as he saw a lady in a rubber coat manning a hose in the practice yard while other women (and quite a few guys) were practicing drill maneuvers of the unique "Hosenken" style that was peculiar to this district in Nerima.

"Come on, pick up the base, you!" the blue haired girl in the rubber coat called out, "Hurumi! Heek your head lower to the ground. You're supposed to move like a crab, not a walrus! And you, Boketsu…what do you think you're doing hanging upside down like that? Cling to the wall, not the firehose! You're supposed to be saving lives, not giving fire victims live entertainment!"

"Hi, Aunt Sharil," Ryokouma called out as they walked on the safe part of the walkway (which Minos edging back a bit out of fear of getting hit by a loose spray of rogue water as the girl on the firehose did not appear too steady), "Is Pop around?"

"Ryo-chan," the blue haired girl smiled at him, "Nice to see you again, Sport. Come to get a few more lessons in Water Bending?"

"Naw, just stopped by to see the Old Man," Ryokouma remarked cheerfully, glancing around, "Are the others around?"

Before Sharil the Water Elemental Princess, could speak up a burst of flame shot out from the wall of the practice building and moved like a flaming comet to hit the ground from close nearby. It resolved itself and congealed into the form of a beautiful woman, also garbed in a waterproof dress, as she looked at him and said, "Well, young man. About time you came to look up Department Number Seven. I could use some assistance in showing these clueless whelps how it's supposed to be done when facing my subjects."

"Hey, Aunt Latisha," Ryokouma said cheerfully, "The new talent could use some work?"

"That's putting it mildly," Sharil exchanged glances with her fellow Elemental Concubine, who frowned in distaste at having to agree with the sentiments of her co-wife.

"Raw talent badly in need of some honing," Latisha said, "I've said over and over again that you are supposed to climb up a ladder, not take a sight-seeing tour from over thirty meters above the tarmac."

"Maybe they're afraid of falling," Minos said reasonably, not wanting to be included in this, and rather hoping very much that these attractive (but indeterminately aged) demi-human women would not think to include him in their goal of crafting a new generation of firefighters.

Before either Fire or Water Elemental could address him, however, he felt a blast of wind whirl around their bodies as a third female form took shape from seeming no where, that of a statuesque blonde, and this one forgetting to garb herself in clothes as the wearing of any apparel was not inherently second nature.

"No chance of it with me and Nagisha keeping our eyes out for these losers," she said, oblivious to the way the two boys were not looking at her but somewhere far below the level of her chin, "They fall we catch them, so there's no risk, so they ought to be willing to take a few or what's the point of practicing at all…?"

"Clothes, Airhead," said a fourth voluptuous female figure as a translucent female image took shape in the space beside the blonde, "You're giving a free peep show to the Kiddies."

"Huh?" Karina the Aid Elemental said, glancing down before saying, "Oh. Sorry about that."

"You're dad's in the Main House, watching the show from a reasonably safe distance, Kids," said Sobriel the Void Elemental,

"Thanks, Aunt," Ryokouma said, "Maybe I'll stop by later and see if any of the new recruits are still alive. If they are…I'll try and work them over."

"Good lad," Latisha said, "You're a credit to your family and well on your way to turning out to be just like your father."

"Better than that, I sincerely hope," said the fifth Elemental who manifested from the ground in the form of a dark haired, dusky skinned woman of statuesque quality and rough hewn beauty.

"Hey," Sharil suddenly turned around, "If you guys are here, then who's watchint the…"

"AAAAHHHHH!" came the cry of a man tumbling from the highest floor of the practice building.

"Ooops, gotta blow!" Karina said, dissolving into a blast of air and rushing across the yard to create an upward funnel to slow the rate of fall of the potential victim to a gentle landing, with Nagisha forming a soft bed of soil to receive the man upon his landing.

Ryokouma and Minos entered the main Firehouse as activity renewed itself behind them, then went from the main common room where the professional Firefighter Veterans greeted them with passing nods and a few gaffaws as they watched by close-circuit television the behavior of their potential replacements.

A quick ascent of a flight of stairs and they were on the second floor, which was the main residence for the Volunteer Firefighter company, and also the location of their father's "Other Dojo," the one he ran apart from the main house, where he was the senior Sensei counseling a crop of students of the "Anything Goes" style that had little to do with Martial Arts combat.

And there, sitting cross-legged in full lotus posture, at the center of a room that was floored with fireproof matting, was the Elder Saotome Ranma. The resemblance between Ryokouma and his father was immediately striking, albeit that Ryokouma's hair was a lighter shade of chestnut, more reflective of the genetic influence of his mother.

Ranma's eyes were closed but he slowly opened them and them smiled and said, "Son, how's it hanging, Boy?"

"Hey, Pop," Ryokouma replied, "Thought I'd check in and see how it's going with you."

"Oh," the pigtailed man smiled, "You mean your Mom didn't ask you to come spy on me and see that I didn't get into mischief with the Ladies?" His eyes slid past his son and became much less inviting as he said, "Taro-san."

"Chief Ranma," Minos replied respectfully, wishing more than anything that the older man would be able to see him as something more than a reflection of his own father.

"Mom didn't send me," Ryokouma replied, "Not even Momma Nabiki. I came here on my own whim because I wanted to ask you something."

"Is it about girls?" Ranma asked nervously, "Because if you want my advice…"

"Hey, do I look that stupid?" Ryokouma asked, and the two men had a shared laugh at that with one another.

"So what's on your mind, Boy," Ranma said as he unfolded his legs and fluidly stood up, "The Girls are taking care of the recruits, but I'm busy supervising things, and I don't want to be too distracted."

"I want to know if maybe I could transfer to a different school," Ryokouma asked, then hastily raised a hand and said, "Just for a semester…until things quiet down around here and the girls find somebody else to harass…like maybe my buddy here."

"On, thanks a lot," Minos snorted, "I'd rather live to graduation day if it's all the same with you."

"You think running away is a solution to your problem, Son?" Ranma asked.

"Not a solution, per se," Ryokouma shrugged, "It's just that…my cousins are getting pretty reckless whenever I'm around, and last week that almost totaled the Gym. Thank the Kami that Uncle Ryoga was able to build it back up from the foundations, or we'd be running laps on the trap in the rain and all of that…"

"Yeah, I can see how that might upset the Principal," Ranma said, "And since she's your step-grandmom, and Uncle Soun would prefer not to get his ears bent about it…"

"I'm not saying that I'm the cause of everything that goes on with those wacky Chicks fighting over me," Ryokouma said, "Bad enough that some of them are related…"

"Like your cousin Bell-chan?" the older Ranma asked.

Ryokouma winced and his face turned a different shade of pink, "Ah…well…she's so far not be one of those busy destroying stuff when I'm around. In fact she helps out a lot…where she's able."

"And it doesn't hurt that the two of you aren't really blood related," Ranma smiled, "Rxcept in the figurative sense of extended marriage ties and third stage relationship separation issues and stuff like that."

"I'm not saying I want to get away from everything for a while," Ryokouma said, "But maybe boarding school in a different country?"

"It'd have to be pretty far away for your cousins not to be able to find you," Ranma said, then paused and remarked, "I could talk about it with Elder Cologne. She and Siren usually have some pretty good ideas about stuff like that."

"Thanks, Pop," Ryokouma said, "Me and Minos are heading over to the Café. You want me to drop a message to any of my Moms?"

"Only that I'll be stopping bby myself in another few hours or so," Ranma replied, "After I get done breaking in the new lot for the day I've got evening classes to take care of, so maybe you might have one of your sisters drop by and deliver a late dinner."

"I'll ask Mom to leave the spatula behind," Ryokouma, "And the axes."

"Good man," Ranma said with a sniff, "I already know what they think about teaching Kamasenken as a marriage counseling technique, and the last thing I'd want is to give 'em ideas that I'm using a hands-on approach to my teaching methods."

"Yeah, that would be bad," Ryokouma chuckled, though he shared his father's inward wince at the sort of firestorm that would be set off if any of his wives got that sort of a notion, to say nothing about his entourage of Elemental Concubines.

They returned the way that they had come, and as they descended the stairs Minos said, "Don't know why my Dad bad-mouths your Old Man the way he does. Fire Chief Ranma is a pretty cool guy."

"Yeah, he's all right," Ryokouma said, "Of course whenever I see him what I really want to ask is how he managed to keep all the women in his life from ripping each other apart. My Moms and Aunts all seem to get along pretty good, which is kind of hard to believe since they had to at one time go through the same age group as us."

"Yeah, that does kind of stretch credibility a lot," Minos snorted, "No offence, but your Cousins and sisters are hot numbers, but most of 'em look like they'd kill you as soon as date you…maybe both."

"You mean except for Lylac-chan?" Ryokouma asked.

Minos winced, "Would you lay off about that? I know she ain't into me…it's just…"

"Yeah, she is pretty incredible," Ryokouma said, "And Ekko's not the only one who knows it. You've got a lot of competition there, Buddy…but I don't think you're as low on the totem pole as you might think."

"Yeah?" Minos asked as they passed out the doors and headed for the yard, "Know somebody else she's more likely to pass over?"

"Well…" Ryokouma said as they started down the runway, casting coy glances at the hapless students being run ragged by their Elemental insructors.

"Watch out!" Minos cried as he suddenly lunged forward and threw up a brawny arm, only to have it be wrapped around by an object that trapped it, yanking him forward and throwing the larger boy completely off balance.

Ryokouma moved to flank his best friend, but when he assumed a fighting crouch his eyes went wide and he said, "Yoyo?"

"How's it going, Stud?" said a pink haired girl who stood on the other end of the unbreakable string that had wound up Minos in its coiling loops. She placed one foot over Mino's shoulder as if taking the pose of a hunter with her prize and grinned, "Tou two boys in need of a good time?"

Minos growled, "What do you want, you pink haired-WHOAH!" he said, having turned his head to look up at his tormentor, only to discover that the placement of her leg had raised her school uniform dress up to give him a good look at the space between his legs.

"What's going on, Sis?" Ryokouma relaxed, "Why'd you ambush us outside Dad's place?"

"Saw you walk in and thought I'd coral you when you hit daylight," the pink haired Asagiri Yoyo replied, "Been a while since we hooked up and I was feeling nostalgic."

"Are you and your Mom in town?" Ryokouma asked, "I would have expected Aunt Saki to check in with Momma Nabiki at the Haten."

"Mom's around," Yoyo shrugged, "I'm on assignment, undercover and all of that. But how are you getting by, Little Brother? Still having to beat them off with a bokken?"

"Hey!" Minos complained, trying not to look, though he now knew the color of the girl's panties, "Mind letting me up now that you've had your fun?"

"Oh hush," Yoyo said, "I caught you fair and square, Stud, so I get to decide what to do with you."

"Huh?" Minos blinked, thrown for a loop by that statement.

She suddenly became serious, "Look, Ryo-chan. Much as I love hanging out with my Sibs-and you in particular-I've got a different sort of family business that brings me back into town."

"Yeah?" Ryokouma asked, "What about?"

Yoyo's tone dropped an active, "Tyger's back in town. And guess what prey she's stalking."

Even Minos shuddered at the mention of that name, "Tyger? That crazy Pirate chick your Mom fathered on that Amazon?"

"Yeah," Ryokouma said on a dry mouth, "My Oneechan's worst nightmare. The Black sheep shark of the family, and the one relation I have that I'd really rather not have to deal with."

"I've been tracking her since rumors of her hitting port came down the grape vine," Yoyo said with total seriousness, "My department's got a list of missing persons with her name attached. All female, all in our age group."

"Poached," Ryokouma said, "And probably guests of the POJ on an involuntary extended ocean voyage."

"My thoughts are that she wants to add our family to the list," Yoyo said, "But I don't think Lao is tied into this. Rumor has it that Tyger's branched out and is going solo."

"Solo?" Minos said, "You mean…she's taking girls for herself?"

"Knowing Tyger she probably calls it practice," Ryokouma said, looking directly at Yoyo and saying, "We have to find Oneechan."

"Which is why I thought to recruit you and the Big Stud here," Yoyo said, taking her foot off of the larger boy and stepping back as she flipped her wrist and caused the string to unwrap from around his shoulders, then coil back into her hand, where it disappeared up her sleeve as though it totally vanished.

Minos sat up and flexed his arms, "If you wanted out help you could have just asked."

"Aw…but it's so much fun doing it this way," Yoyo said flirtatiously, touching him on the arm and smiling at him before saying, "I'm not exclusively into girls, you know…and sometimes I like a side of Beefcake with my tacos…if you catch my drift, Big Guy."

Minos looked dubiously down at the slender girl, but there was a spark of interest there, along with a wary cautious sense that maybe she was not stringing him along, and that maybe…she might actually be serious in her unspoken offer.

"Let's go," Ryokouma said.

"Go where?" Minoa asked.

"To the family Dojo, of course," Yoyo replied, "The only logical place where Tyger might lay a trap to ensnare big sister Lylac."

"I don't think we should tell the parents," Ryokouma said, glancing at the yard where the Elementals were engaging in a "tough love" obstacle course for the new talent, "If Tyger gets a whiff of a posse coming…"

"She'll go to ground and be twice as hard to find, yeah, I figured that out," Minos answered, turning to Yoyo and saying, "You sure the three of us will be enough of a cavalry, Pink?"

"My guess is that we won't have time to round up anyone else," Yoyo said, "And that the Posse we might coral is already rounded up, and not in a good way."

"We gotta hurry," Ryokouma said as the three of them set out at a run, "If we arrive too late then I doubt we'll be of any use at all to Lylac and the others."

"On an empty stomach?" Minos said, his growling as they hastened their pace.

"You can eat later at the Nekohanten, my treat," Yoyo replied, "But if you lag behind I won't spring for breakfast."

Minos arched an eyebrow then said to Ryokouma, "You're family's got a weird sense of humor."

"Don't freak out when I tell you this, Dude," Ryokouma said, "But I don't think Yoyo's joking. Are you, Sis?"

"That would be teling," she said with a coy expression, right before they turned a block and left the Furinkan financial district in the dust behind them…

"Geena…" Eileen started to take a step forward, only to have Lylac block her with an arm gesture.

The ice blonde girl looked helplessly at her sister, squirming and trying to make a noise but for the metal bindings that wrapped about her, preventing her from using her formidable strength in her own liberation.

"Orachalchum chains?" Lylac guessed, feeling Eileen's wrath intensifying, as was her own to see her best friend's sister being included in Tyger's web of deceits.

Not to mention her sisters, Shamran and Fragrance, plus her cousins Belldandy, Lilith, Tomoto, Incense and Watazashi. Seven of the best fighters in all of the Nerima prefecture, bound, helpless and naked in examples of rope bondage in the style known as Shibari, of which Tyger was an undisputed Master.

"Only the best," Tyger replied, "But don't give me that look, Ekko darling. I happen to know that you do not include heat vision among your list of demi-human powers. But by all means, do step forward to reclaim your younger sibling."

Eileen paused, getting control over her wrath, and thinking rapidly once again with the lucid clarity for which she was well known, "And if I do…what will happen to us both?"

"You'll never know unless you find out," Tyger smiled, "Or need I remind you of what happened to you the last time we crossed paths?"

"She's planned this well in advance," Lylac said, eyeing her half-sister warily, "No doubt timed for right when everyone else is gone from the house, especially the parents."

"But of course," Tyger said with hungry eyes fixed upon her purple haired sibling, "I want no interference while we settle accounts…Amazon style, POJ tribal version, the winner getting claim to the loser. No kiss of death or other quaint customs of antiquity here…just a collar for your neck and you will go along quietly and without needless resistance."

"And if I refuse?" Lylac said, "You don't honestly think that you can escape from here with my family in tow?"

"I have my escape route plotted out," Tyger answered, "Believe me, there will be little that you and Ekko-chan can do to thwart me this time…and I would so very much enjoy adding her to the package."

"It will cost you if you try it," Eileen replied, "You may have surprised me the last time, but this time…I will not be so easily taken."

"No one's taking anyone here," Lylac said firmly, "Your word that if I beat you then you'll go quietly along with what I say…and surrender yourself to the custody of the Law?"

"If you know of a prison that can hold one such as me," Tyger said, "Then I will permit the officers to take me away…but no promises of staying a good girl."

"Then there is no deal," Lylac said firmly.

"Oh Pooh," Tyger sniffed, "You know full well what Mother will do if the officers of the law try to hold me against my will."

"She might well allow it if she knows that you are breaking the pact between herself and my Otokasan," Lylac said firmly.

"You are a tough negotiator," Tyger sniffed, "Very well. If you win I will let myself be arrested. But if I win…you are mine, and no complaints out of either of you."

"Done," Lylac said, "Then we have a bargain."

"What?" Eileen reacted, "No, that…"

"Just stay back and don't interfere," Lylac said, "And I mean that, Ekko-chan. Your sister's welfare hangs in the balance. Tyger took her to insure your compliance, and besides…it's me she's really after."

"Well, I'd be happy to take the lot of you, but you would be the prize catch in any event," Tyger noted, "Ready to begin, Sister Dearest?"

Lylac assumed a stance and said, "As ready as one can be, Sister."

"Famous last words," Tyger smiled, curling her hands and extending her arms as she assumed a one-legged stance with leg raised in the manner of a Tai Fighter.

Lylac studied the posture of the other woman and shifted her own stance accordingly, all the while alert to the fact that this game would be rigged to favor her opponent. After all, cheating was well within Tyger's nature, and taking anything for granted at this point would be a sure step to a one-way trip to a slaver's pen.

Though for all her treacherous nature the one saving grace Tyger had was that she wanted to subdue her prey on her own terms and merit, enjoying the sport far too much to make it too easy a kill, so there would at least be a chance open to defeat her.

She knew Tyger's history, the bastard child of Lylac's Fama and the woman known as Madam Lao, conceived almost eighteen years ago during a brief stay that her parents had made on board the ship known as the "Piece of Junk," a cursed vessel that was doomed to sail the seas for nearly eight hundred years. Lao was the Mistress of a mysterious creature known as the Kraken, said to be one of the Neflim of ancient legend and a fearsome creature in its own right.

Whom Tyger knew as the "Family Pet," which had a lot to say about the moral tone of her general upbringing.

Off to the side Eileen's brilliant mind was working on overdrive as she attempted to size up all of the unknown elements within the room. Factoring in the placement of the captives currently hanging around by ropes in positions of display, coupled with the dimensions of the combat space and likely points where traps might be set, plus the behavior of the young Slaver as she might give herself away at points, hesitating to step on a certain section or area, for example. Anything to tilt the odds more in favor of Lylac.

At the moment Lylac was stretching her feelers out, using her abilities to their fullest to determine what things were out of place here within her family's dojo (other than the fact that seven of her female relations were hung up like Christmas ornaments for a Marquis d'Sade concept of decorations, Geena being the customary "star" to be adorned on the top of the tree).

Tyger was up to something, and not just in the usual sense. There were areas that Lylac's mind identified as "red-flag" banner moments, places that she mentally mapped out as areas to be avoided, even knowing that Tyger would take it for granted that Lylac would know how to spot a trap in the conventional meaning of the term.

The purple haired girl with the strange inherited curse that could alter her gender with a dash of cold water faced off against an opponent whose abilities were primarily Water-based, and who had a penchant for ropes that she could wield like a thing that was alive, which meant that-even on perfectly ordinary terrain-the advantages would be in her court and it was up to Lylac to adjust herself to the possibility that this was not a fight that she could win without taking considerable risks.

Not that losing the battle ever remotely occurred to her. Like her Fama she had an ingrained sense of never backing down from a fight or accepting the prospect of defeat, for in the Anything Goes Ryu the thought of losing was akin to accepting death.

Or something vastly more compromising to her dignity, knowing Tyger's predilictions as she did.

The seconds ticked by with nothing seeming to happen, but Eileen knew full well that both sides were considering strategies and adjusting to near invisible feints that only true Masters of the Martial Arts would even perceive as passing between them.

But then the impasse broke and the two antagonists moved on the offensive. Like a blur to the naked eye Lylac and Tyger came at one another, hands and feet flying as their bodies moved like choreographed dancers, coming together in the initial exchange with a rapid exchange of blows that Eileen had trouble following, and she could count the beats of a hummingbird's wing, which meant this high level battle would be quite climatic…

"Hello, Mother," Chusen said as he and his siblings stepped past the threshold of the restaurant, "How is business?"

Nabiki turned to regard her son and smiled before nodding to the floor, "About time you kids showed up. We need some help in here. The Evening Shift hasn't showed up, so you girls are going to have to do double-shift to make up for the shortfall."

"What?" asked Honame, "You mean Lylac and the others never showed up to do their shifts?"

"Not even Cousins Tokomo and Incense?" Hope asked with a surprised expression.

"Maybe they got held up in Gym class," Arisa suggested, "You know how Coash Shiratori likes to grill them through their paces."

"We could try calling their cell phone numbers," Yamase suggested, "Fiind out if they'll be a bit late or if they'll ditch us altogether."

"What a shame," Umisa said, "I was hoping to cruise by the mall later on with Watazashi. How about Geena and Shamran?"

"No dice," said Perfume as she came sauntering by, "And Fragrance hasn't showed up from her last delivery run. I swear, I hope that girl hasn't let herself get distracted by another bout of tail chasing. She's worse than a wild hound in mating season."

"Shamran and Fragrance?" Chusen asked, "Curious. It's not unusual for them to deviate their course in pursuit of their own interests…but I am getting a very peculiar sense that something is amiss. Arisa?"

"Yes, Brother?" the blonde at his side asked.

"Would you mind skidding over to the dojo and checking out to see that everything is all right at home?" he asked, "Umisa, go with her, just in case she requires backup."

"Got it, Bro," his blue Mohawk haired sibling acknowledged, turning to her fellow spawn of an elemental and saying, "Let's make the tide, Airhead."

"Right back at you, Water-on-the-Brain," Arisa cheerfully shot back in sisterly ribbing, and the two of them backtracked out the side exit while Chusen turned to the rest of his entourage of bodyguard siblings.

"Let's try and find out who we can and cannot make contact with," he urged, "Beginning with Big Sister Lylac."

"Right," Yamase, Hope and Honome acknowledged, sharing with their brother the urge to find out what the heck was going on as there was a growing sense of urgency about this. For long experience told everyone that when it came to Nerima…

Nothing was coincidental…

Lylac felt her pocket vibrate and knew that someone was attempting to contact her via her cell phone, but she was a bit too preoccupied at the moment to risk freeing a hand for the purpose of giving an answer. She would have to call them back afterwards, or text them a message as she was a bit too busy trying to avoid becoming the latest acquisition for her Bondage Loving Dominatrix of a half-sister.

Tyger had rapidly gone from exchanges of combat techniques to whipping out ropes and nets that she seemed to have in limitless abundance. Lylac shredded through the netting that tried to engulf her with Amigurikan-like motions of her fingers, but the touch seaweed-hemp fibers sternly resisted her best efforts, and only by falling back on her mastery of the "Crab Style" side-shuffle got her clear in time to avoid total ensnarement.

Tyger was hardly deterred and whipped out a set of bracelet-chains, managing to snag one of Lylac's wrists in a moment of carelessness, which momentarily immobilized her and left Lylac vulnerable for the faintest of half seconds.

Off to the side Eileen tensed and wanted desperately to act but was relieved to see Lylac evade the attempt to drop a cage down over her head. Lylac did a quick side-shuffle as the place where her foot rested suddenly sprang to life with another trap that almost succeeded in caging her from below. Obviously many floorboards in the dojo had been substituted for cleverly concealed traps, and were Lylac not the recognized heir of the Anything Goes Ryu she surely would have fallen prey to any one of them as they were expertly mounted and no doubt could prove a challenge for anyone else whose skills fell just short of their parents.

Eileen turned back to eyeing the plight of her sister, Geena, who certain did not seem to be enjoying her uncomfortable position. Likewise Shamran, who hovered close nearby her best friend, two Kittens in one Pod whose behavior and mannerisms closely resembled one another, so much so that Eileen half wondered if there might be something going on there between the two of them.

Much as she fervently wished that there was going on between herself and Lylac.

But this was hardly the time or place for such thoughts, and she needed to stay focused upon business, especially as a half dozen other of Nerima's premier female martial artists were on hand, every one a potential ally if they could be freed to turn their energies upon their mutual tormentor. The Twins, Belldandy and Lilith, naturally sprang to mind as among the most useful and formidable, which made their presence here something of a deeper mystery since it was difficult to credit how even one as clever as Tyger could overpower two of nearly Demigoddess status, let alone keep them helpless to effect in their own liberation.

Watazashi, Incense, Tokomo and Fragrance were each tough and capable fighters in their own distinctive ways, and surely it required much more than just some ropes and dildos to hold this female demolition derby in check. Considering the amount of havoc they could wreck during one of their periodic rampages it would surely require only a little bit of effort to give them the edge that they needed in order to win free of the current bindings.

Which suggested to Eileen that it might be possible some less obvious influence were in play to keep these girls from using their abilities to their full effects. Perhaps drugs or pressure point paralysis? She ran through a list of probable scenarios in the space of a few seconds, then hit upon the one obvious thing that she had missed in her initial inquiry.

An object that stood on a platform at the other end of the room, horn-shaped and giving off the faintest glow, which Eileen registered as a magical aura of some odd nature. Knowing the penchant of Tyger and her mother to acquire weird artifacts of ancient and dangerous character it made sense to think that maybe this was one such an item that warranted serious attention.

She turned back to the battle that was raging and silently vowed to help Lylac prevail in any manner that she was able. Tyger was clever but Eileen was acknowledged to be the Genius of her generation, and no way was she allowing herself to be outsmarted by someone who thought collecting female relations for a hobby was the height of Aesthetic glory.

Even if Eileen would not have minded collecting Lylac for herself, loath as she was to admit this beyond the privacy of her own heart.

Tyger suddenly went on the aggressive, demonstrating exactly why her name was so appropriate as she struck with ferocity and ruthlessness hammering away at Lylac's defenses as the latter instinctively shifted her defense to full evasion, suspecting (accurately, as it turned out) that her half-sister was using a double-blind maneuver that contained a feint within a feint, concealing the true strike that came lashing out when her foe suddenly halted in her offensive then reached down and pulled upward, activating yet another hidden trap that sprang up all around Lylac in the form of tiny wires far too thin to be easily spotted until they formed a mesh around her.

"Lylac…" Eileen fought hard against her desire to go to the side of her friend as she saw the purple haired girl was suddenly unable to move, hemmed in on all side by threads that folded in all around her and held her immobile.

"Surprised?" Tyger grinned, "I certainly am, you falling so obligingly into this particular trap."

"What is this stuff?" Lylac said as she fought against her containment, unable to gain sufficient leverage to use force to break free of the steel like constrictions.

"Would you believe those are human hairs that bind you now?" Tyger asked, "Specially treated so as to be nearly unbreakable, even if you tried to cut them with a sharp object."

"Hair?" Lylac said, then paused and said, "I see. Very clever of you. You've mastered the spell of the Hair Witch that Great-Grandmother once told me about."

"And now that I have you and you can't break free," Tyger leered, "Then I'll claim you as my property and treat you as my personal pampered pet."

"After you've softened me up and taught me to be submissive and obedient to your will?" Lylac asked.

"Oh, I don't expect it to be so simple and easy as all of that," Tyger smiled, "The fun part is in taking my time to break you down slowly in stages, so as not to completely shatter your will. I want you to retain that fine spark of independence and defiance that makes you so uniquely you, dear Sister. All the better to teach you the futility of trying to resist the inevitable as I humble you to my will."

"You seem to have it all worked out in advance," Lylac frowned, "But there is one thing you did not count on."

Tyger frowned, "And that is?"

"The Back Step," Lylac replied, and suddenly vanished completely from her ensnarement.

"What?" Tyger gasped as she felt the tension go completely out of the hairs, and then all at once she sensed danger coming from the side and moved reflexively.

But too slow by half as she felt Lylac's foot collide with the side of her chest with just force enough to send shockwaves spiraling through the redhead's body as Tyger went sailing into a wall and went right through it without stopping.

"You remember the Amazon Fugue Technique, don't you?" Lylac smiled, "Fama taught it to me about a month ago for just such occasions as this one. It involves retracing your step through the intricacies of space and time so as to reverse a situation that might otherwise prove too sticky."

Tyker pulled herself out of the reckage of the wall and spat, "No fair…"

"When is a fight ever a fair one when you are involved, Sister?" Lylac asked.

"A fair point, and I will concede that," Tyger said, stepping clear of the hole that she had created, "And well played. Once again you remind me why, of all my closest relations, you are the one I most desire to have in chains and at my mercy."

"I really don't understand this obsession you have with tying up your girlfriends, not to mention you cousins and sister, Tyger," Lylac said as she prepared to renew the battle, "You might actually make more friends if you tried dating a girl the normal way."

"Unfortunately I have problems dealing with rejection," Tyger replied, once more crouching in readiness, "And don't knock what you've never tried. I have it on good authority that there are some who wouldn't mind putting themselves in a submissive posture under your tender mercies if you had a mind to press your advantage."

Eileen frowned but felt a stab of guilt as she considered the bard, which clearly had been aimed her way, knowing full well it was truth that the Slaver spoke, much as she might try and deny it.

"I just don't understand such games," Lylac said, "I want a relationship to be between equals, equal parts giving and sharing, so that when I chose to fall in love with someone there won't be any questions of dominance and submissiveness."

"Hmph, you might as well wish for the sun and the moon," Tyger taunted, "There are no true equals in this world, Sister. There are the Dominant and the Submissive, and once everyone learns their place they'll all be happier for it. It's fighting against that nature that creates so much unhappiness. I am merely trying to do you the favor of opening your eyes to a truth that you deny."

"Sociopathic rationalizations," Lylac replied, "No one is superior to anyone else, and if you think compensating for a sense of inadequacy is the same thing as a mature relationship then you are very much mistaken."

"Then we have a disagreement that can only be settled in one of two ways," Tyger smiled, "Either I teach you the folly of your upbringing or you prove me wrong by defeating me completely."

"All right then," Lylac said as they began to circle the room once again, "But when I win don't forget that you promised to submit yourself to the law, and no going back on that promise."

"If you win?" Tyger chuckled ominously, "My you are feeling optimistic…" and once more they came at one another even as Eileen took the moment of their distraction as an opportunity to edge ever closer to the glowing object that was the focus of her attention.

Just outside the dojo, at that precise moment…

Arisa finished skating through the air as her feet rode the currents of wind that she summoned, arriving just as Umisa appeared rising up from the Koi pond as the elemental portal she had opened manifested beside the dojo.

At once they both heard the commotion going on inside, as well as the disturbing currents of energy that they felt swirling all around, and Arisa said, "Sister…"

"Yeah, I feel it too," Umisa noted, "There's definitely a Water Bender fighting with Lylac in there. And three guesses what kind of Water Bender that must be."

"She's back?" Arisa was appalled, "Then we have to notify Chusen and the others…"

"You do that," Umisa stepped forward onto the grass, "I'm going in there to offer assistance to our sister."

"What?" Arisa blinked, "But that's…"

"Don't argue with me, Bubblehead," Umisa snapped, taking a step forward into the garden, "This is serious business and-WHAT?"

A circle appeared around where her foot touched ground, and all at once a globe of force sprang to life and surrounded her. Arisa saw this and cried, "Umi-chan!" and reflexively reached out to try and assist her sister.

"No-don't!" Umisa cried, one instant before a flash of light surrounded both of them, momentarily painting the yard in the brightness of a spell that held the both of them in its snare…

At the same precise instant Chusen, Honame, Hope and Yamase all reacted as one, feeling the fate that had befallen their kinswomen.

"What is it?" Perfume asked, sensing the disturbance in her foster offspring.

"We have to go," Hope said.

"Our worst fears are realized," Honame affirmed.

"The Tyger is back in town," Yamase said, "And now she's laid claim to our sisters."

"Well, then what are you kids waiting around here for?" asked their Prime Mother, Nabiki, "If it's Tyger then there's not a minute to wait, and you know how we Saotomes hate to be kept waiting."

"Are you coming to fight with us, Mother?" Chusen asked.

"Gee, I'd love to," Nabiki said, "But you know how I try to stay clear of anything that would get Lao on my ass…figuratively and literally speaking. And while I may be her father I'm not exactly sure if I'm the best qualified to give her the spanking she deserves."

"That's right," said Natsume as she appeared in the doorway, "We elders had our own battles to fight in the old days. But this generation should take care of its own."

"My thinking exactly, Sis," said Karumi, "I was half tempted to head off to the dojo myself when I heard that Incense-chan had gone missing, and Watazashi with her…"

"And Tomoyo-chan," said Kodachi as she entered the room with Keiko at her side, "And word has it the twins, Belldandy and Lilith, are also not accounted for."

"Kasumi's kids as well?" Nabiki said, "Well, well, looks like Tyger's gotten ambitious this time around."

"Try not to sound as if you're proud about it, Nab-chan," said a pink haired woman who entered the room, glanced around and said, "Well now, if this isn't a merry little gathering. You guys taking a coffee break or is this supposed to be a council of war?"

"Oh, hey there, Saki-chan," Nabiki brightened, "Been a spell since you checked in."

"What are you doing here?" asked Ukyo as she and Shampoo walked in on the scene.

"I got a call from Yoyo," Asamiya Saki said as she glanced around, "She had a hot tip that the Red Sheep of the family was out and about gathering talent for her collection."

"Like mother like daughter," Nabiki sighed, "Good thing Ranma's still at the Firehouse or I'd probably be hearing from him about that."

"Aiyaa," Shampoo said, "This is like convention of family. Almost feel like back home in Village."

"Yes, the nostalgia was getting to me too, Cousin," Perfume said, "So why are we all standing around here while we've got problems involving our children?"

"Maybe because Chusen and his sisters already left five minutes ago," Nabiki said, "But don't worry, everyone…they're more than up to the job, even if Tyger may have picked up a few tricks and is planning to pick up where she left off the last time."

"Now aren't you being casual about this, Sugar," Ukyo said, , "Considering you're the one who started all this by sleeping around with that Hussy."

"Ack," Nabiki winced, "Hey, it wasn't like that!"

"Oh no?" Shampoo asked suspiciously, "Ailen let Cousin Lanocane corner her and have evil way with Wife turned Husband. Now our children have to deal with family disgrace…or else."

"Or else?" Nabiki gulped.

"Or else our children are going on a long ocean voyage care of our renegade Cousin," Perfume growled, "And what do you have to say about that?"

"Ah…well…" Nabiki winced.

"Actually," said Saki, "The word I've got on the street is that Tyger's on her own and operating independently of her mother. Lao threw a fit over her obsession with her sister, Lylac, because of her defeat the last time. But though the Pirate forbade her seeking revenge Tyger just wouldn't let this one go."

"How very Amazon," Kodachi said, "Your people do have a way of bearing a grudge to absurd lengths, would you not agree?"

"Hey, we're not always that obsessive," Perfume protested.

"Oh no?" Ukyo asked, "Seems to me that I can recall how a certain Sex Kitten latched onto my hide and wouldn't let go until I agreed to submit to her terms for marriage."

"Ah…well…" her brown haired wife said sheepishly.

"So maybe we ought to check in at the dojo and see if they need our help?" Keiko suggested, "Kodachi and I were heading there any way just in case Tomoyo-chan might be there."

"But it's the middle of the evening shift," Kurumi pointed out, "If we all go, and none of the kids are here to take up the slack…"

"Then who will run the restaurant?" Natsumi finished for her, "A good point that."

"What more important, business or our children?" Shampoo asked.

"I'm thinking about that, don't rush me," Nabiki said, "But hey, if we all showed up now we'd frighten Tyger off and not be able to contain her. So why not let the kids handle this for once?"

"You have a point, Sugar," Ukyo noted, "It's not like we don't trust our heirs. After all, we did train them."

"Yes, against normal enemies," Kurumi said, "But against Tyger?"

"She may be more of a handful than our daughters know how to handle," Natsumi said, "If they were here I'd suggest sending Tatawaki-kun, my husband, and you could have Mousse go along to back him up, Sister."

"Or Kodachi and me could go in their place," Keiko suggested, "We were already on our way when we thought we'd step in and se who else we might be able to round up."

"Then count me in," Saki volunteered, "I'm the one who has the authority to make an arrest, after all."

"Fine, then I'll go," Nabiki sighed, "Like you said, she's my responsibility, and as her father I've got a duty to spank her, just because she's Lao's daughter if nothing else."

"Are you sure?" Kodachi asked, "You wouldn't want to strain yourself. Might be this is a task better suited to Kaneda?"

"Go ahead and laugh, Kuno-chan," Nabiki said, "But if we don't put a stop to things early there's no telling where this could lead. And besides, if she's really severed her ties to Lao then Tyger might be twice as desperate as when she was merely fronting for her mother as one of her agents. After all, Lylac's just the one she has in her sites right now. If she has her way with my Heir then there's no one's daughter who'll be safe in all of Nerima, not to mention the rest of Japan."

"Is true," Shampoo affirmed, "She take after her Poppa."

"Hey," Nabiki winced, but the others just laughed at the good natured jest at her expense, so she decided to let it ride as she, Saki, Keiko and Kodachi took their leave of the restaurant and headed out back in the direction of the dojo, where everything eventually congealed one way or another in all of their adventures…

"What?" Lylac exclaimed as she felt the spell going off.

"Ah, just as I anticipated," Tyger grinned, "I took my time to factor in all of the elements that have worked against me in my previous visits, including some of our more annoying sisters. I want no one to interfere in this as I teach you the value of humility, Lylac-chan."

"And how will you do that?" Lylac asked, noticing that Eileen was edging towards the far side of the room, "By poor example?"

"I am an Alpha," Tyger replied, "The same as You. But unlike you I embrace my dominant half and recognize that some are born to serve the lead of an Alpha, and it is for their benefit that they be taught to enjoy their service."

"You really need to do something about that inflated sense of self-worth," Lylac replied, "It seems more like you're compensating."

"Which reminds me," Tyger said, "How are you doing getting in touch with your masculine side, Sister dearest?"

"What?" Lylac sensed an attack but it took a moment too long for her to realize that one of the floor panels was booby-trapped, and all at once a blast of water shot up literally in her face and slammed her hard against the far wall.

And in doing so triggered her birthright curse, the one inherited from her mother via Jusenkyo.

"Forgot about my special discipline, have you, Big Brother?" Tyger asked as she used her energies to hold and congeal the water into a steel-hard form that resisted the best efforts of her transformed sibling, "I can control any water in my immediate presence, including vats, tubs and washbasins that I strategically set about placing up in advance of your arrival."

Lylac frowned, then concentrated, and the water dissolved from around him as he pushed off from the wall and stood taller than before, at least half a head taller and half again as large as when he had his Jusenkyo curse be triggered.

"You're going to regret doing that," he said as he brought his hands together and clapped, and the water rose up from the floor to form a cloud around his hands then formed a wave of steam as he rubbed his palms together and generated real heat, then clapped a second time and sent a blast of steam ripping through the air like a javelin sent straight at Tyger's bosom.

But Tyger raised her hands and the wave shattered against another wall of water that rose up to surround her. She moved her hands and formed a globe that surrounded and protected her as Lylac took the dispelled pellets and formed them into hundreds of tiny little ice javelins before convening them back upon their target.

The ice hit the wave of force and turned back into water then splashed around Tyger's body, triggering her own inherited curse as she turned into a larger and wilder version of herself, only far more ferocious looking with fur sprouting out of all edges of her body, her ears becoming pointed. Her hands sported wicked looking claws and a prehensile tail sprouted out from her rear, striped like the rest of her as she revealed wicked fangs and smiled.

"Thank you, Brother," she said with a leer, "I was hoping you would try that."

"Uh oh," Lylac said, realizing his tactical error as his half-sibling vaulted across the length of the room with powerful legs bolstered to superhuman levels, and suddenly he literally had a Tiger by the Tail who was ferociously inclined to do something other than merely rip his clothes off…

Meanwhile Eileen succeeded in finally getting to her goal after circumventing dozens of cleverly hidden traps that a normal person might have missed, and which all appear to have been crafted with her in mind as though anticipating her interference.

"This had better be worth all the bother," she grumbled under her breath, even as she heard the fight take on a new dimension and said, "Oh no…Lylac-kun…"

In retrospect she ought to have anticipated that the Slaver would aim to get Lylac in this state, knowing that the male aspect of the Heir to the Tendo/Saotome estate was stronger physically but marginally less supple and quick on his feet, while Tyger's abilities were now enhanced by animal strength, speed and reflexes.

She tried to shut out the distracting sounds of a struggle that was taking place behind her, much though it affected her deeply to think that she was sacrificing her beloved friend for the sake of her sister and the others. She had to choke down her emotions, however, to resolutely concentrate on the last trial before her, the traps she knew were surrounding the object that had been at the center of her current focus.

Up close she could sense the power that the object radiated, and considering the protections that surrounded it she knew its importance to Tyger was not to be underrated. All that she had to do was try and think like the Slaver (a frightening thought that) and retro-fit the likely scenarios for traps of this nature, beginning with her extensive knowledge of Cryptology and Puzzlework, Mind-Teasing gimmicks and probable factors that could prevent a simple act of reaching out and grabbing the thing.

She had to consider those obstacles that she had already overcome, and know that Tyger had clearly crafted all of this with her in mind. Eileen was super-strong, super-intelligent and had a limited invulnerability that rendered her a very tough opponent who could literally walk through fire without getting burned. Outside of massive kinetic force she only had two real vulnerabilities.

Chemistry and Magic.

Her advanced nervous system was enhanced by the tiny nanobots that infused her body and gave her advanced regenerative capabilities. But there were certain elements that could interfere with the efficient performance of their duties, toxins known to Tyger that could paralyze or render her too weak to fully implement her natural talents. She also channeled the natural ambient life energies of her environment, which was her Kryptonian heritage from her mother's side, among which was Bio-Solar energies. She also had the blood of Olympus bequeathed to her by her biological grandmother.

There was, of course, a third vulnerability in the form of Kryptonite, but behind a demi-Kryptonian hybrid afforded her some limited resistance, so it was more of an annoyance to her than something genuinely deadly.

Both aspects of her heritage made her somewhat vulnerable to certain types of spells and magical energies. Eileen could overcome that weakness by harnessing her Ki to counterbalance the networking of spiritual energies that might otherwise prove troublesome.

But to do that she had to know what type of spell was involved, and that meant having to anticipate a mind as twisted and perverse as that of Tyger Tiger. And knowing the Slaver's mind as intimately as she did (a thing she would rather not boast about) she was certain that Tyger had crafted this with her in mind. Just as she did everything else with a purpose.

And her purposes were generally selfish and diabolical, as was exemplified by the noises that Eileen was trying to shut out in order to concentrate on solving the puzzle.

It had to be something obvious that she was missing. Tyger delighted in paradox and irony, and while she was no where in Eileen's class in terms of overall genius, her deviousness was not to be underestimated.

Off to the side Lylac was struggling with a different sort of problem, namely how to keep a sex-crazed were-cat from doing something very naughty that would make everyone's day a lot more complicated, HIS not the least of it. Lylac's clothing had been shredded in seconds by the first attack of those claws, which moved so fast that the Amagurikan would be considered a cakewalk. Of course Tyger had aimed at clothing and not flesh so Lylac's skin was largely intact.

Unfortunately flesh was exactly what Tyger was intent upon, and having nothing in between them to obstruct her goal meant that she could ply her advantage in close quarters to grapple in earnest, using arts that were obscure and obscene to force herself upon the hapless sex-changed Martial Artist. And for all Lylac's vigorous efforts to fight her off the amorous Cat-Girl was ten times stronger and more tenacious than she was in her female incarnation.

Just outside the dojo Ryokouma and Minos arrived in time to see a sight that caused them both to pause and stare in abject disbelief and wonder.

"What the…?" Minos said, "Are those…your sisters?"

"Oh man," Ryokouma said in dismay as he stared at the iceberg-shaped block of frozen material that had the clear forms of Umisa and Arisa entrapped within its spaces, "What happened here?"

"What do you think happened, you Bakas?" Yoyo said without pausing as she vaulted up onto the platform of the dojo, "Tyger's here, and there's no mistaking it. That's her aura…I'd recognize it anywhere."

"Hey, don't go rushing in there!" Ryokouma warned his sister, "If she can set a trap for the Elementals then there's no telling what she-oh, never mind."

"Man," Minos winced as they saw a heavy net fall down over Yoyo, who tried to dodge away only to trip and fall backwards onto the landing, "Sure glad that wasn't me who just did that."

"Hey!" Yoyo struggled as she tried to get free of the steel-strong netting, "A little help here, will you?"

"I thought you were supposed to be the professional one here, Sis," Ryokouma began to say as he took a step forward…only to feel Minos's hand suddenly grip him on the shoulder.

"Hold up, Man," the taller boy urged, "If it was me who was setting traps around this place I'd probably arrange it so that anybody goes to the help of an obvious victim would be the next one who gets the netting."

Ryokouma considered the point and said, "Yeah, that makes sense. Man…and I thought I had a messed up family to begin with. Finding out that I've got a sister whose this wigged out…"

"I hear you, Man," Minos sympathized, "Compared with her the rest of your family actually seems kinda normal. So…okay if we leave you here for now and get back to you, Yoyo-san?"

"Of fine, just peachy," Yoyo snapped, finding it hard to untangle herself from her present predicament, "If Mom saw me now I'd never hear the end of it…"

"Tell her it's all about training," Ryokouma said as he cautiously approached the dojo, extending all of his senses to detect the slightest anomaly, with Minos being cautious about setting foot where he did, just to be cautious, "That's what I always say to my folks…"

"Yeah, well, keep in mind that Tyger only likes girls…mostly," Yoyo cautioned, "If she senses a couple of studs like you, don't expect to get this warm a reaction."

"She's got a point," Minos said, "There's only one guy that Tyger seems to have any interest in, and that's…you know."

"Yeah, I do," Ryokouma murmured softly, "And that's something I wanted to ask you about…"

"What, you think I swing that way?" Minos cried indignantly, only to realize he had spoken too loud and said, "Uh oh…"

Inside the dojo Tyger was just putting the finishing moves upon Lylac, whom she had managed to immobilize with a pinning maneuver that was as awkward to describe as it was unbecoming to the dignity of the hapless sex-changed martial artist.

Having grown up with a near identical variation of her Fama's curse, Lylac Tendo was well accustomed to her ability to easily switch gender with just a dash of either cold or hot water. It seemed entirely natural to her to swing from either gender, though in essence she preferred to think of her true sex as being female.

It was the form she wore most often in public and her comfort level was greater when she was female. Being male was awkward and at times felt rather clumsy. There were different sets of equipment and hormones with which to cope, and as a boy she tended to behave more aggressively while as a girl she tended to be more cerebral. There was also that awkward "fifth appendage" that boys counted as being so necessary and important to their self-identity, just as women often rated themselves for the size of their breasts (in either department Lylac found herself well accounted). And it sometimes got in the way of his ability to think around the many sexually charged situations that he tended to get embroiled within around Nerima.

Also too was the unmistakable element that sometimes came with Jusenkyo magic…the subtle, almost physical enhancement of one's natural charisma when it came to either gender.

As a girl Lylac was popular, but as a boy HE was almost irresistible to a majority of he female population (and quite a number of the boys, if you wanted the full shocking truth of the matter). Girls were always coming onto him whenever he was trying to do something casual and ordinary, and after a while it just became too much of a hassle to mess around in his boy half when being a girl seemed to grant Lylac greater control over casual encounters.

However, in the current situation in which He found Himself his boy-type cursed body was proving to be even more of a "curse" than it had ever been for his father-mother.

Lylac-kun could not move his arms as her legs were pushing them far apart, and her arms were wrapped around his thighs. She was laying on top of him with his back pressed down to the wooden flooring. His face was pressed up against her pelvis, and his pelvis was positioned right where her mouth was, his male member sticking upright like the proverbial flag pole, and Tyger's roughened tongue was playing about the shaft to encourage it to remain both stiff and at full attention. She was deliberately gyrating her hips so as to grind her muff into his face, leaving Lylac no choice at all but to respond orally or else be suffocated by the Tyger's "Pussy."

At least she had taken the time to clean and shave down there, Lylac reflected, rendering the experience much less unpleasant than it might otherwise have been, for all that he was being called upon to respond to her demands as Tyger had him where she wanted and was not about to take surrender as an option.

With her it was all about conquest and forcing capitulation, and if ever Lylac had harbored any doubts about it being feasible for a guy to get raped by a girl they were being put to rest quite forcibly, giving Lylac an easier time accepting his Fama's frequent protestations to his Mother that she had been similarly compelled to perform, which was how Tyger had come into existence.

But suddenly the Pirate-turned Were-Cat paused in the act of treating him like a human popcycle to frown and say in annoyance, "What is it this time? Those brash tones and that smell…I think I'm going to retch if it turns out to be that milksop of a Brother."

Lylac managed to rally a bit and offer a muffled protest, "Rmphokmma iph nmph m mlksp…"

"Oh…say that again," Tyger grinned as she glanced down, "I liked that down there, Lover boy."

Lylac decided to accommodate, "Mph m mng mdmph?"

Tyger shiverd a bit, "The Big Idea? Why, am I not being obvious enough? I intend to master you, Big Brother…emphasis on the word, 'Big,'" she leered at his cock in a meaningful manner.

"Mmph mm nmph mnt?"" he tried again, finding it better to try and talk to the Poacher since the rest of him was a bit preoccupied at the moment.

"The Point is that I am a woman and you are-presently at least-a man," Tyger said as she shifted her position, releasing her leg-grip upon his arms and moved rapidly to climb around him before he could manage to use his arms in an effort to dislodge her, "And while I like you in your other half, this one will serve my needs quite well at the present."

Lylac suddenly found that she could not move, and realized that a number of pressure points must have been struck to paralyze him in his prone facing-up position. And now he looked on in mingled horror and fascination as Tyger positioned herself with her crotch poised just above his flag pole, a triumphant look in her eyes as she began to ease down and shifted her pelvis to accept the tip of his rod into her most intimate of harbors.

Lylac's eyes were round and he stared in amazement as he saw her begin to sink down and envelop him into her body. It was the most amazing, indescribable sensation, and something that he had only heard about in texts but was now happening beyond his power to resist.

"There," she sighed as she completed the docking maneuver and sat straddling him with her powerful thighs pressed down around his lower body, "A perfect fit, just as I knew it would be."

Off to the side there were a number of muffled gasps as all around the room eight sets of eyes boggled at the sight of Tyger pressing down upon the purple haired boy whom many looked upon as a respected elder brother and/or cousin. Eileen sensed the tension currents in the air and found it impossible to ignore the call as she turned around and said, "No…"

Rage suddenly swelled up into her bosom, and as she had just cracked the sixteen-digit Omnigonal energy puzzle matrix that freed the horn-shaped object from its containment a sudden irrational desire came over her to throw something across the room. Without pausing she grabbed the ivory horn in one hand and tugged it away from the podium…

And immediately felt currents of raw energy flow through the thing into her body.

"I have you pinned now, my Brother," Tyger leered triumphantly, "And this time you won't escape me."

Lylac winced as she felt internal constrictions and muscle tensions begin to flow around his manhood from inside his amorous half-sister and he gasped, "Why are you doing this? We're family…!"

"So?" Tyger asked, "I'm keeping it in the family. Don't tell me you still have quaint notions about things like incest inhibiting your thought patterns even now, Lylac darling? Among our family such things hardly seem to even register as a factor."

A sudden cry from the far side of the room startled Lylac and momentarily took her away from thoughts of how perversely good it felt to be ravaged by the Cat-Girl-and how much it distressed him to think that he even could find such a thing pleasurable in the least-and he turned instead to the one he had been counting all along to carry the day while he kept the Tyger "distracted."

"Ekko-chan…?" he gasped.

The redhead was on the floor gripping something in her hand and making odd noises that seemed half way between agonized and…something else equally intensive.

"Ah, she fell for my trap, exactly as predicted," Tyger leered, "That's the problem with these Brainy types. They get so wrapped up in their mental prowess that they don't even know how predictable they are. Just show them a puzzle and they feel compelled to solve it, and when you take that in mind and create puzzles that are meant to be solved, challenges that keep their vast intellect preoccupied so that they fail to recognize the blindingly obvious…"

"What did you do to her?" Lylac cried.

"It's what she did to herself," Tyger answered, "She gripped a Satyyr's Horn with her bare hand and fell under the sway of its enchantment. For a man this would induce immediate Satyriasis, but in a woman the term is Nymphomania, an uncontrollable desire to unshackle the libido and cast away all moral restraints and inhibitions."

"But why?" Lylac marveled.

"Why not?" Tyger countered, "Surely you must have realized by now that she suffers an acute sense of repressed anxiety and unfulfilled desires caused by the presence of a certain party who interests her, and with that much held in check the sudden bursting of the dam surrounding her sexual urges must seem to be overwhelming."

Lylac blinked, "Eileen has an unrequited love? She never told me about it…"

Tyger leaned forward (causing Lylac's eyes to bulge at the sensations this caused him) and flicked one clawed finger against his forehead.

"Ow," he winced, "What did you do that for?"

"How someone so intelligent can be so dense…" Tyger shook his head, "Tell me, what do you suppose would happen to an ordinary mortal if a woman with the power of a God were to lose control in the heat of passion?"

"Ah…well…" Lylac had to admit that he would have preferred not to dwell upon the mental picture that this conjured.

"Which is precisely why the little idiot thinks she's being noble by denying her self-indulgence," Tyger replied, "It really is an unhealthy thing to hold that much back from sharing with the one you care the most for. She should thank me for giving her this release before she explodes from too much repressed hormones."

Tyger started to wiggle her hips and Lylac felt himself swelling within her and gasped, "Please…don't do that…"

"But this is the whole point of my coming here, my Brother-darling," Tyger smiled, "You defeated and humiliated me the last time we were together. My mother forbade me from coming here to seek my vengeance, so I compromised and instead decided to declare you my Airen."

"Your…what?" Lylac blinked.

"Once you come inside me it will be the same as law in Amazon culture," Tyger began to rock back and forth, "Then even your Fama and my Mother won't be able to deny me my dues. After all, it's how your mother got your fama to marry her in the first place."

"But…I…"

"Never," Eileen snarled, pushing up from the floor, still gripping the horn but looking as though she were gaining control over herself as she declared, "I won't let you have her…"

"Amazing," Tyger said, "That you can even still move must be a testament to will power. But I am afraid that I am quite adamant about this. Oh, certainly you will need a bit of training and some discipline to become a proper mate for an Officer of the POJ, and most of your time will be spent in your female half…naked and chained, of course, with your male half being called upon for frequent service…"

Just then the side panel door slid open and Ryokouma appeared, with Minos flanking him, saying, "Hah, got through the last of those traps and…"

Both boys stopped in mid-step and gaped in blank-faced astonishment. Though mentally each was prepared to accept the thought that Tyger would have some sort of Hentai Paradise of S&amp;M bondage delights upon display, neither one was entirely braced for the sheer assault on the senses that they were being presented with in the span of but an instant.

"Oh great," Tyger said with a wince, "The cavalry has arrived. How droll."

"Oh man…" Minos suddenly put a beefy hand to his nostrils, much too late, as it seemed, to prevent a sudden gush of crimson.

Ryokouma was a bit more seasoned to witnessing naked girls, having grown up in a house where "Wardrobe Malfunction" was a near daily occurrence. But even he was not able to escape a slight trickle of crimson from a nostril as he set his focus upon where Tyger was perched and gasped, "Neechan?"

"It's not what it looks like!" Lylac protested, "Ah…I mean…mostly…"

"Catch!"

No one had seen Eileen pull out an egg-shaped object from a point of concealment on her person, but when she threw it the object burst in mid-air and formed a steam cloud that fell like rain over both Tyger and Lylac, triggering the change in both of them to their more natural bodies.

As always it was like having the reset button get pushed and Lylac suddenly found herself free from nerve paralysis, even as Tyger's own strength dropped precipitously by a decimal factor. Wasting no time in taking advantage of this she lashed out with both hands, striking the redhead's body in key nerve clusters and returning the favor, causing the renegade Amazon to stiffen and then go limp as a plate of refried noodles.

She collapsed forward but Lylac caught her, then gently eased her down to the side before climbing out from underneath her amorous kinswoman as she stood up from the floor, brushed her restored clean-shaven loins and said, "Well…that sure was a close one."

"Ah…" Ryokouma abruptly glanced away, "You okay there, Oneechan?"

"I will be as soon as I fetch one of my spare outfits…oh, thank you, Minos-kun," she looked up as the tall boy awkwardly handed her his own uniform shirt, trying hard not to look at her…or anything else but the bare walls, his face looking bloodied but-oddly enough-almost quite handsome.

"Ah, sure…no sweat," Minos said gruffly, "Sorry about the blood on the floor…"

"Not the first time we had to clean some up around here," Lylac turned and stared at the other side of the room, then said, "Eileen-chan."

She crossed the floor and tried to bend down, but Eileen rolled over to her side and refused to look at her, which distressed Lylac to no end as she said, "Eileen…"

"Just…go away," Eileen urged, "I'll be all right…now that you're safe…"

"Ah…" Lylac reluctantly stood back up, "Right," and then she turned and glanced around at the eight other female members of their family whose dignity was well beyond being compromised, "Oh my…this is going to take some work…"

"What do we do about Tyger, Oneechan?" Ryokouma asked as he cautiously stepped forward.

"Nothing at the moment," Lylac said, "She won't be a bother when she wakes up in another minute."

"Huh?" Minos asked, "Why is that?"

Tyger started to twitch, and then convulse, and then she started to made strange kittenish noises and began to roll on the ground, her hands moving to finger herself abruptly.

"Because I used a Kamasenken maneuver," Lylac answered, "It should keep her busy and out of our hair for a bit. Though it might behoove us to use some of these ropes to restrain her. Not that I expect tying up a Bondage Queen will be all that effective."

"Oh, you'd be surprised, Little One," said Nabiki as she, Saki, Kodachi and Keiko appeared at the entrance to the dojo.

"Mom?" Ryokouma whirled about.

"Among other late arrivals, Little Brother," said Chusen as he and his entourage of elemental siblings next appeared, including Arisa and Umisa.

"Yoyo?" Saki asked as she saw the awkward position of her daughter.

"Training Mom," Yoyo helpfully replied, "Just like you always stress…"

"Well, now this is an unpleasant trip down memory lane," Nabiki said as she studied the various displays of naked teenagers and said, "A real chip off the old stone tablet…wouldn't you agree, Lao-san?"

The appearance of the blue haired Lanocane brought a few gasps of surprise, but the tall Amazon just casually glanced around and said, "If I had more time I might critique her handiwork, but since I can only spare a few hours at most away from the POJ I'll just say the kid gets passing grades and leave it at that."

"What are you doing here?" Saki asked, her hand already holding her trademark Yoyo.

"I'm here to retrieve my wayward prodigal, naturally enough," Lao replied, turning to Nabiki, "Sorry about the inconvenience. I tried to discourage her and told her not to violate the pact between us…but you know how it is with Teenagers."

"I'll refrain from answering that on the grounds of self-incrimination," Nabiki replied, "Of course this sort of thing tends to get out of hand when you loosen the reins, and don't tell me that you're not more than a bit proud of how far along she's come in following your example."

"I would say that she shows remarkable improvement, being able to corner a demi-goddess or two in one fell swoop," Lao replied, turning her focus towards where Eileen was softly moaning, "If you want to be cured of that Horn then I suggest you let go of it first, Daitokuji. It should wear off in a few hours…unless you'd care to find a willing partner who could help speed things up a bit by giving you a chance to…"

Eileen said something pointedly unladylike without looking up from where she lay huddled.

"Suit yourself," Lao said, turning to Nabiki once again, "I'll pay for any damages, but I won't allow Miss Law and Order here to place my child under arrest. I did not come here for a fight, but if it comes to one…"

She snapped her fingers and suddenly a number of jets of water appeared, and then congealed into the form of female warriors, complete with armor and bristling weapons.

"You haven't changed a bit," Nabiki noted.

"Pot calls Kettle," Lao smiled back, then nodded as two of the blue warriors stepped forward and picked up the writhing Tyger between them, "For what it's worth, however, even my patience does have limits. If she tries this again and you happen to catch her a third time…I'll consider turning her over to your authorities am object lesson in training, Asamiya-san."

"I suppose we could leave it at that," Saki replied, "For now."

"All kidding aside," Lao grinned, "It is very nice to see you all once again. Give my regards to my cousins…and you young people. I will be definitely keeping an eye on you. Things are definitely blossoming out here in Nerima. Must have something to do with the soil and the weather."

She stepped back and a portal formed behind her through which the entire band of blue skinned elemental women disappeared, Tyger and Lao being the last before it winked out of existence.

Kodachi turned to Nabiki and asked, "You let them go so easily?"

"Didn't feel like a good time to make a point about it," Nabiki answered, "Besides, Lao knows that Tyger was in the wrong, so she's not going to press the issue about Lylac almost getting married."

"Hey!" Lylac protested, "Fama…don't even joke about that!"

"It's always tricky when it comes down to Amazon law," Nabiki eyed her heir with fondness, "You can take that to the bank from me. Let's try and clean up here and get these girls some fresh clothing, then call the others at the Nekohanten and assure them that we've averted yet another crisis. Oh…and son, good work rescuing your sister."

"Aw…I didn't do nothing, Mom," Ryokouma said, "All we did was distract Tyger a little…"

"That was more than enough for me, Little Brother," Lylac patted him on the shoulder as she headed for the door and a fresh change of outfit, "As far as I'm concerned you're my hero of the day."

Meanwhile Minos crossed the room and stared down at the groaning Eileen, who turned one eye back at him and growled, "What?"

"Nothing," he said gruffly, "Just thinking how weird it is for once, us both being in the same boat."

Eileen did not reply but turned her focus elsewhere.

"I want you to know I still hate your guts," Minos said, "You're a Dyke and you oughta own up to it, and just how long are you gonna keep it from her how you really feel?"

"As long as I have to," Eileen murmured, "Until I know for a fact that I can control myself…and never hurt her."

"Sounds like Tyger had you nailed," Minos turned around, "Makes you almost as much of a baka as me. We're rivals…but just so you know…I feel your pain, Sister."

Eileen lay there and thought about it, but silently acknowledged the point, even as she promised herself that she would send him on another trip to the pool just as soon as she was upright.

"Close call, huh, Sugar?" Keiko asked of Nabiki.

"That's one way of putting it," Nabiki said, "Good thing Kasumi wasn't here or things might really have gotten messy. You know how she gets anytime someone messes with Lilith or Belldandy."

"Most indubitably," Kodachi said, then asked, "And what would have happened if Tyger had prevailed in her suit and claimed Lylac for a husband?"

"Not sure if I really want to go there," Nabiki winced, "But somehow I kind of doubt it's over this easy. If there's one thing you can count up on with us Tendos and Saotomes, it's that we're persistent creatures of habit, and it's never really over even when the fat lady is singing to the chorus…

Continued.

ROLL CALL: Tendo/Saotome/Kuonji Clan Members Jusenkyo Curse

Lylac Tendo -Daughter of Shampoo and Nabiki Girl/Boy

Shamran Saoitome -Daughter of Shampoo and Ranma

Fragrance Kuonji -Daughter of Ukyo and Perfume Cat Girl

Ryokouma Saotome -Son of Ukyo and Ranma

Chusen Saotome -Son of Nabiki and Ranma

Kiba (Hope) -Daughter of Sobriel and Ranma

Honome -Daughter of Latisha and Ranma

Arisha -Daughter of Karina and Ranma

Umisa -Daughter of Sharil and Ranma

Yamase -Daughter of Nagisha and Ranma

Yoyo Asagiri -Daughter of Saki and Nabiki

Tyger Tiger -Daughter of Lao and Nabiki Tiger Girl

Belldandy Steinberg -Daughter of Kasumi and Thelendra

Lilith Steinberg -Daughter of Kasumi and Frank

Watazashi Kuno -Daughter of Natsume and Kuno

Incense Tendo -Daughter of Kurumi and Mousse

Tokomo Kuno -Daughter of Kodachi, Keiko and Ryoga Vulture Ferret Girl

Akira Hibiki -Son of Akane and Ryoga

Ryoko Hibiki -Daughter of Akane and Ryoga Oni-Girl

Eileen Kent Kane Managi Daitokuji-Daughter of Aiko and Beiko

Geena Kane Kent Daitokuji Managi-Daughter of Beiko and Aiko

Minos Taro -Son of Akari and Pantsaru Taro Winged Minotaur

*Otokasan (fathermother) or Okatosan (Motherfather) for Nabiki1/2 or B-ko. ;)

X


End file.
